Thank the lord! Preseason is finally over for the Vegas Golden Knights and we can now fully focus on the start of the 2019-20 regular season.
The Vegas Golden Knights closed the book on their preseason by cruising to a comfortable 5-1 win against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday, in what was an absolute slugfest dominated by a plethora of hits and 114 total penalty minutes.
William Carrier, Jimmy Schuldt, Jonathan Marchessault, Mark Stone and Reilly Smith got the goals for the Golden Knights on a night the big guns truly delivered, and it was a fitting end to what has been a largely successful preseason.
Results don’t matter this time of year, of course, but the Knights finished with a 5-2 record in the preseason, outscoring their opponents 25-13 and we were treated to plenty of highlight-reel plays by a flurry of players.
We also saw the emergence of young phenom Cody Glass as a true bona fide talent who is ready to take the NHL by storm, and it will be interesting to see if he begins 2019-20 on the opening night roster following a combination of injuries and some stellar displays in the preseason, including laying on three assists and two for Max Pacioretty who could be his linemate on opening night.
There was also a reminder that there is a glut of talent in the farm system, particularly in the defensive zone. Five rookies spent the duration of the preseason battling it out for one roster spot on the blueline, and it is now down to either one of Nic Hague or Jimmy Schuldt to crack the big league roster.
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But we were given a tantalizing taste of what is to come and, after strong showings from the likes of Dylan Coghlan, Zach Whitecloud and Jake Bischoff, we know the future is bright in the defensive zone for the Golden Knights.
And we were again shown just how loaded and stacked this roster is, and there is no doubt that the Vegas Golden Knights should be in the upper echelons of elite teams in the NHL in 2019-20. They are packed to the brim with talent and they have enough firepower to blast away most teams in the NHL.
Max Pacioretty was the standout star when it came to Vegas’ big guns in the preseason, with the veteran going on an absolute tear with four goals and six assists for 10 points. He was lights out whenever he played and also developed deadly chemistry with Cody Glass.
Mark Stone flashed glimpses of the quality we know he possesses and we can’t help but be excited at the prospect of having the Selke Trophy finalist in Sin City for a full year. Surrounded by potent weapons and elite linemates, we could be about to see one hell of a career-year from Stone.
There was one negative to take from the preseason, however, and that is the injuries suffered late on in the slate of exhibition games. Injuries are a part and parcel of preseason, of course, but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept.
Alex Tuch went down with a upper-body injury in the penultimate preseason game and is considered week-to-week, while Cody Eakin also went down in the same game with a upper-body injury but is only being treated day-to-day.
Those body blows took the gloss off what was a largely positive preseason and Training Camp, and that is why we’ve labelled the preseason a mixed bag.
However, the preseason is now over and we are just two days out from the return of proper hockey and the start of the 2019-20 regular season. Whatever happens, it is going to be a hell of a fun year if you are a Vegas Golden Knights fan and we can’t wait for the fun and games to begin!