Vegas Golden Knights: 3 reasons why fans should be worried
The Vegas Golden Knights have followed their Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final with a nightmarish start to the 2018-19 season. Is it time to be concerned?
The Vegas Golden Knights are perhaps the weirdest team in NHL history. That’s quite the accomplishment, considering they have only existed for one full season. The Knights, a group of misfits, made a run to the Stanley Cup Final and are the first team to do so since the St. Louis Blues, who did so back when the NHL required an expansion team make the Stanley Cup Final.
However, the sequel to their unforgettable 2017-18 season has been quite forgettable thus far. The Golden Knights are off to a 1-4-0 start. Through their first four games, they have only scored nine goals (10 if you include shootout goals) while allowing 19. Their 1.80 goals per game is the fourth-worst mark in the NHL while their 3.80 goals allowed per game is the ninth highest.
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Why has that happened? Maybe it’s because of the Imagine Dragons. Just saying, the Golden Knights haven’t won in regulation since they performed before Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. But if you’re looking for an actual reason and not a scapegoat, several things stick out.
Though five games is a mighty small sample size, the Golden Knights don’t have the same magic or chemistry they had last season. That same magic and chemistry were two of their calling cards from last season.
The Knights season, though, is far from over. They play in a very weak division, so if they can merely tread water without star defenseman Nate Schmidt (suspended for 20 games), another postseason appearance is quite plausible.
That said, there have been some alarming trends in the Knights first five games. Let’s take a look at what has been going wrong for Vegas and if they can right their ship.