Vegas Golden Knights: Work to do but so far so good

We’re now three weeks into the 2019-20 NHL regular season and it has been a case of so far so good for the Vegas Golden Knights who can still go up another gear or three.

Through 11 games the Vegas Golden Knights are 7-4-0 on the year and have won four of the five Pacific Division matchups they have played so far.

They rank 12th in Goals For Per Game (3.09), 8th in Goals Against Per Game (2.55), 9th on the power play (25.0) and 1st on the penalty kill (90.9).

So, as far as the stats go, it has been a pretty successful start to the regular season for the Golden Knights who currently sit second in the Pacific Division behind the Edmonton Oilers, who have cooled off somewhat this week after enjoying a red hot start to the year.

It is early days, of course, but the Knights are chugging along nicely and are probably right where they want to be as we rapidly approach November.

And, the good news? This team hasn’t reached their potential yet and they’ve got at least two or three more levels they can reach.

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They are on exactly the right track and, although championships can’t be won in October, they can be lost and the Vegas Golden Knights have navigated an extremely tough opening month pretty well so far, with three games left before the calendar turns to November.

Vegas opened the regular season with a home-and-home double-header against bitter rivals the San Jose Sharks, winning both and outscoring their opponents 9-2 in the process. They dropped their first game of the year in a 4-3 loss to a very good Boston Bruins team and also suffered an ugly loss to the Arizona Coyotes, before bouncing back emphatically to claim another divisional win by cruising to a comfortable win over the Calgary Flames.

That was the first game of a back-to-back and the Knights had their legs in the second matchup after beating the LA Kings 5-2, an effort spearheaded by Paul Stastny‘s four-point (two goals, two assists).

An opportunity to pass an early litmus test was passed up as the Golden Knights were outclassed in a 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators but, and as has been a positive pattern so far this year, they bounced back by beating the Ottawa Senators in a Shootout two days later.

And Vegas have just come through a tough three-game road trip after beating both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks with an ugly loss to the Philadelphia Flyers sandwiched in-between, but four points from a three-game stretch on the road isn’t to be sniffed at.

The positives from the first three weeks of the 2019-20 regular season have been bountiful, starting with Marc-Andre Fleury who has been absolutely lights out in goal with a 2.04 Goals Against Average and a .937 Save Percentage in 10 games.

CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 22: The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate after scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks in the third period at the United Center on October 22, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images)

Mark Stone has come as advertised so far in his first full year with the Knights, potting six goals and recording eight assists for 14 points, while Reilly Smith has been like King Midas in front of goal with everything he touches turning to gold.

The emergence of rookie phenom Cody Glass has been fascinating to watch unfold, with the two-way forward quickly establishing himself in the National Hockey League with a string of accomplished performances and six points (two goals, four assists) in 11 games.

Shea Theodore is quickly establishing himself as an absolute horse on the blueline and he’s averaged 22:14 minutes of total ice time per game this year, while rookie defenseman Jake Bischoff has helped to settle down a shaky defense in his first two games in the NHL.

Granted, there are wrinkles and kinks to be ironed out and the biggest concern has centered around the blueline which has surrendered at least 35 shots in seven of the 11 games they have played this season.

However, that unit has looked more solid since Jake Bischoff replaced fellow rookie Nic Hague on the bottom defensive pairing alongside Deryk Engelland, while the return of Nate Schmidt, who is still a week or two away from returning with a lower-body injury, will certainly help with Vegas’ transition game and getting out of the zone.

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There are three games left in October and they will all serve as good measuring sticks, starting with an elite Colorado Avalanche team who are 7-1-1 on the year, although they will be without stud forward Mikko Rantanen for at least a month.

But, overall, the Vegas Golden Knights should feel positive about the way they have started the regular season and they will only continue to get better the longer the year goes on, which should set them up for a deep postseason run especially with the elite roster they have constructed.

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