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Vegas Golden Knights: Top six coming as advertised

By Andrew Steele-Davis |
NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 03: Vegas Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault (81) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the Vegas Golden Knights on December 3, 2019 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 03: Vegas Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault (81) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the Vegas Golden Knights on December 3, 2019 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

We all knew that the Vegas Golden Knights boasted a stacked top six forward unit and we have seen that in action so far in 2019-20.

Heading into the regular season, it was easy to pinpoint the biggest strength for the Vegas Golden Knights and that was their top six forward unit.

To put it simply, the Knights have enough firepower within that top six unit alone to sink a small fleet of battleships.

Featuring the dynamic top line of Jonathan Marchessault–William Karlsson–Reilly Smith, the Golden Knights also have the luxury of being able to roll out a second line containing Max Pacioretty–Paul Stastny–Mark Stone.

And, although those lines have been broken up and tweaked at certain stages of this year, they have delivered overall and are getting the job done.

Just look at the stats a quarter way through the 2019-20 regular season. For starters, the top six points leaders for the Knights all play in their top six, led by Pacioretty who has 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists) in 30 games.

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Karlsson is second on the team in points with eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points, Stone is third with 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) while both Smith and Marchessault have tallied 20 plus points.

There is then a significant drop off with Stastny sixth in the team in scoring with 12 points (eight goals, four assists), and you can maybe put his lack of production down to the fact that he has spent time on a struggling third line this season.

But then look below Stastny and you will then get the full picture of just important this top six has been for the Golden Knights this year.

Defenseman Shea Theodore is the first player outside of that top six on the leaderboard with 12 points (three goals, nine assists), while rookie Cody Glass is behind him with four goals and seven assists for 11 points.

To break it down in simpler terms, the top six have combined for 132 points through the first two months of the season, while the rest of the lineup has just 90 points between them.

That is both an indictment on this team’s lack of secondary scoring, and also a glowing assessment of just how potent the top six forward unit has been.

Granted, the likes of Stone, Marchessault and Karlsson have gone through slumps this year but, and especially in the case of Stone, that probably has more to do with the fact that the lines were broken up in order to get other players going.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 31: The Vegas Golden Knights stand at attention during the national anthem prior to a game against the Montreal Canadiens at T-Mobile Arena on October 31, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 31: The Vegas Golden Knights stand at attention during the national anthem prior to a game against the Montreal Canadiens at T-Mobile Arena on October 31, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) /

However, it seems that Vegas Head Coach Gerard Gallant has recognized the fact that it does more harm than good to break up those top two lines, and you know they boast the firepower to carry this team.

Plus, with Alex Tuch starting to hit the peak of his powers with six points (three goals, three assists) in three games following an injury-ravaged start to the year, the secondary scoring is starting to show signs of picking up.

Getting back to the top six, Pacioretty has been the pick of the bunch and he’s currently averaging 0.84 Points Per Game.

He’s morphed into a key piece of this team and he has also displayed flashes of the “Captain Clutch” mentality that defined his time in Montreal with the Canadiens.

The underlying stats for the top six are impressive too, including the fact that all six players on the top two lines have a CF% of over 50 percent.

To be a Stanley Cup contender, you need your big guns to show up night in and night and you can see evidence of that across the league, be it in Edmonton with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl or in Boston with David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand.

Next. Golden Knights have struck gold with Gallant. dark

And the Vegas Golden Knights are getting the same from their stacked and loaded top six forward unit, which is delivering just as they should be and there is bound to be more to come the deeper we get into the season.

So, while the secondary scoring has been average at best, the Knights can at least lay claim to having one of the most dynamic and potent top six units in the NHL, which is consistently getting the job done.

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