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Vegas Golden Knights: Jonathan Marchessault Earns NHL’s First Star Of The Week

By Richard Cardinale

LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 24: Jonathan Marchessault #81 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates to the puck against the San Jose Sharks during the game at T-Mobile Arena on November 24, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - NOVEMBER 24: Jonathan Marchessault #81 of the Vegas Golden Knights skates to the puck against the San Jose Sharks during the game at T-Mobile Arena on November 24, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Vegas Golden Knights best player last week also outshined everyone in the NHL.

Let’s face it, if the Vegas Golden Knights didn’t get big-time performances from Maxime Lagace, Malcolm Subban and Oscar Dansk who knows where they would be in the standings. All have been stepping up for the undisputed starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury while he is recovering from a concussion. But there have been other players that have stepped up to the plate in a big way.

One of those players is “Real Deal” James Neal who was the Golden Knights hottest player at the start of the season. Then came the emergence of William Karlsson who still is the Knights most consistent player to this date. However, no one in the NHL is playing better hockey right now than Jonathan Marchessault.

On Monday the NHL announced that Cap-Rouge Quebec native earned the First Star of the week honors for the week ending November 26th. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and Alex Ovechkin each won second and third star of the week honors respectively. But for Marchessault to outplay superstars like those two means, he must’ve had a fantastic week, which he did.

Marchessault recorded one goal, two assists, and three points in each of his three games played. In total, he scored three goals, six assists and nine points in three contests. The 26-year old is having a fantastic season thus far for the Knights registering eight goals, 13 assists, 21 points in 19 games played.

The 5’9 forward struggled at the starting gate, and he also suffered a lower-body injury in the teams fourth game. However, since returning from injury, it seems like he’s back to make an impact just like he did with the Florida Panthers last season. Whatever was ailing him must’ve healed up pretty quick with the way he’s been playing.

Marchessault has been a better all-around player playing with Karlsson and Reilly Smith on a line. Last season with Florida he was a -21 while this season he boosted that number way up to a +5 rating. A lot of that has to do with playing with responsible players like Karlsson and Smith. But let’s not take credit away from Marchessault, he’s been taking much better care of the puck.

Marchessault is playing in a contract year, and its anyone’s guess what the team will do with him. I could see General Manager George McPhee trading Marchessault for picks/prospects if they fall to the bottom of the standings. But then again, I could see him holding onto Marchessault if the Golden Knights make the playoffs.

Next: Jonathan Marchessault And William Karlsson Lead The Way VS Arizona.

McPhee knows he will get something significant in return for Marchessault due to his low cap hit, but I’m not sure if he wants to do that right now, With the way this Vegas Golden Knights team is rolling, I wouldn’t touch the team’s chemistry. There’s something special about this group, and Jonathan Marchessault is a big reason as to why.

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