Vegas Hockey Knight
Fansided

Vegas Golden Knights: Pros and Cons from loss to the Bruins

By Andrew Steele-Davis

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 08: Tuukka Rask #40 of the Boston Bruins save a shot by Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at T-Mobile Arena on October 08, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 08: Tuukka Rask #40 of the Boston Bruins save a shot by Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at T-Mobile Arena on October 08, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 08: Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates after scoring a goal during the first period against the Boston Bruins at T-Mobile Arena on October 08, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 08: Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates after scoring a goal during the first period against the Boston Bruins at T-Mobile Arena on October 08, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Pros: Mark Stone delivering early

There were sky-high expectations for Mark Stone heading into his first full year with the Vegas Golden Knights and he has wasted little time in living up to the promise and the hype.

Benefitting from having an elite playmaker in rookie phenom Cody Glass alongside him, in addition to veteran sniper Max Pacioretty, Stone has recorded a two-point night in three consecutive games to start the year.

He was at it again against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, getting Vegas on the board first with a power play goal following superb play from Pacioretty and Glass, and Stone would go on to record an assist on Pacioretty’s first goal of the year in the third period.

Stone now has six points (two goals, four assists) in three games and our prediction that the 2018-19 Selke Trophy finalist would lead the Knights in points this year is looking pretty good at the moment.

In order to be a genuine contender you need to have elite game-changers at your disposal and the Golden Knights have that in Stone, who is also just as effective in the defensive zone. He’s arguably one of the best two-way forwards currently in the NHL and he is meshing well with Pacioretty and Glass, which has the potential to be a hugely productive line for Vegas.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 08: David Pastrnak #88 of the Boston Bruins tries a wraparound shot against Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Vegas Golden Knights in the third period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on October 8, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bruins defeated the Golden Knights 4-3. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 08: David Pastrnak #88 of the Boston Bruins tries a wraparound shot against Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Vegas Golden Knights in the third period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on October 8, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bruins defeated the Golden Knights 4-3. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Cons: Costly Turnovers

One of the biggest flaws of this Golden Knights roster as it is currently constituted is arguably the blueline, which lacks an absolute horse and instead relies on the collective effort from a group of stay-at-home defensemen.

Granted, the likes of Brayden McNabb, Jon Merrill and Deryk Engelland do a solid job but there is a shortage of high-end puck-moving defensemen who can get the puck out of the zone quickly and help with the transition game.

Shea Theodore is Vegas’ most talented offensive defenseman but he can’t do it all on his own and, for the second consecutive year, the Knights are without Nate Schmidt during the early part of the year after the blueliner took a heavy blow to his knee in the season opener against the San Jose Sharks.

Like Theodore, Schmidt is exceptional when it comes to handling the puck and starting rushes from the defensive zone, and his presence and ability to drive play was felt keenly against the Boston Bruins last night.

Deryk Engelland and rookie Nic Hague – skating together on the bottom defensive pairing – couldn’t get the puck out of the zone which led to David Pastrnak’s goal in the first period, and Nick Holden was guilty of turning over the puck for Torey Krug’s first goal of the year and Boston’s fourth of the night in the third period.

Vegas had twelve giveaways in total and that is going to get you punished when playing against an elite team such as the Boston Bruins who can boast a plethora of offensive weapons.

Home/Analysis