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.
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
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.
3. One Line Team
Last season, the Vegas Golden Knights got a lot out of their top forward line. Though they haven’t been as dominant through the first five games of the 2018-19 season, they’ve still been very good. Through five games, Jonathan Marchessault, Rielly Smith, and William Karlsson have combined for 12 points.
Here’s the problem – the rest of the team has eight points combined. Marchessault and Smith are the only forwards with multiple goals (two). In fact, Karlsson, Marchessault, and Smith are their only three players who even have more than one point.
The Golden Knights haven’t found their optimal line combinations yet aside from their top line. Making this task harder is the recent injury to Paul Stastny, which could keep him out for up to a month.
Insider @TSNBobMcKenzie reports on @NHLonNBCSports that Paul Stastny's injury is more of a week-to-week thing and could miss a month of time.
— Ryan Quigley (@ryanquigz) October 11, 2018
Stastny was signed to lead the second line. His injury has forced Erik Haula up. Though he had an amazing season a year ago, he hasn’t gotten off to a good start, despite having Max Pacioretty flanking him.
To be fair to the Knights, injuries have been hurting them thus far. Cody Eakin recently played in his first game, scoring against the Washington Capitals. But still, the Golden Knights are struggling while icing essentially the same lineup they did last season. Sure, the losses of James Neal and David Perron hurt, but there’s obviously more to the story.
Related Story. Greatest Player To Wear Each Jersey Number. light
The Golden Knights need their forwards to get healthy. More importantly, head coach Gerrard Gallant, the reigning Jack Adams winner, needs to prove why he won the award by tinkering with the lines until he gets the combinations that work.
2. Goaltending (Or Lack Thereof)
The Vegas Golden Knights got phenomenal goaltending last season. Not only did they manage to dominate despite having five goaltenders appear in a game for them in a span of roughly a month, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury had the highest save percentage of his career during the regular season. During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he was even better.
Goaltenders are hard to evaluate, but the golden rule is “never bet on an aging goaltender”. Sure, there are guys like Henrik Lundqvist, Pekka Rinne, and Robert Luongo who can remain outstanding even past the age of 33. However, these are the exceptions, not the rule.
Fleury turns 34 in November. So far this season, he has been anything but magical. Through four games, he has a .846 save percentage, down from his .927 save percentage from last season. Fleury has just one quality start in four appearances, which came against the Minnesota Wild.
He will most likely bounce back, but it’s become clear they can’t rely on him to be outstanding like he was last year. This means backup goaltender Malcolm Subban will have to give Fleury some help. The Knights should explore using Subban more to give their starting goaltender the rest he needs to be a dominant goalie.
Related Story. One Reason Each Team Should Be Excited For Next Season. light
However, Subban didn’t do well in his first start of the year against the Pittsburgh Penguins, allowing four goals on 22 shots. Still, his .871 save percentage this season is better than Fleury’s. Vegas needs their goaltenders to start performing like they did last year.
1. Blueline Blunders
The Vegas Golden Knights came into this season as a pretty well-balanced team. But if they had a weakness, it was probably their blueline. After all, their defensemen got exposed by the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Final. In five games, the Caps scored 20 goals against the Golden Knights.
Nate Schmidt’s suspension has made the Knights even more shallow defensively. And it’s certainly showing in their first five games. Usually, when a team is allowing a lot of goals, there’s a bit of a “which came first the chicken or the egg” debate – is it the defensemen or the goaltending?
Well, for the Golden Knights, it’s pretty darn simple – it’s both. Vegas is allowing cross-ice passes at an alarming rate. Against the Capitals, three of their five goals against involved the puck moving from one side of the net to the other. The Penguins exploited this weakness as well during their 4-2 win.
Without Schmidt, the Knights defensive depth has once again been exposed. Shea Theodore has been forced to be their number one defenseman. Though he has performed admirably, Schmidt’s absence has forced other defensemen into roles they are not comfortable in.
Next. Each NHL Team's Worst Contract. dark
The Golden Knights had the opportunity to trade for Erik Karlsson this summer. They say some of the best moves you make are the ones you don’t make. But the reverse is true as well – sometimes, the worst moves are the ones you don’t make. The Golden Knights have got to regret not trading for Karlsson.