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Vegas Golden Knights: Karlsson’s impressive return, other takeaways

By Andrew Steele-Davis

SAINT PAUL, MN - FEBRUARY 11: Paul Stastny #26 of the Vegas Golden Knights defends Mikko Koivu #9 of the Minnesota Wild during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on February 11, 2019 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAINT PAUL, MN - FEBRUARY 11: Paul Stastny #26 of the Vegas Golden Knights defends Mikko Koivu #9 of the Minnesota Wild during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on February 11, 2019 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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SAINT PAUL, MN – FEBRUARY 11: Zach Parise #11 of the Minnesota Wild scores a goal against Nate Schmidt #88 and Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on February 11, 2019 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAINT PAUL, MN – FEBRUARY 11: Zach Parise #11 of the Minnesota Wild scores a goal against Nate Schmidt #88 and Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the game at the Xcel Energy Center on February 11, 2019 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /

2. Lack of kill in the PK

What do I always say?

You live and die by your special teams.

And, right now, the Vegas Golden Knights are being absolutely smothered by both their power play and their penalty kill.

Let’s start with the power play. It was completely ineffective against the Minnesota Wild, generating just four shots and going 0/4.

Granted, the Knights still have the 12th ranked power play in the NHL (20.4) and, given the abundance of firepower at their disposal, the man advantage should work itself out.

However, what is more concerning is the penalty kill which has completely fallen off the cliff this year.

The PK was always stellar under Gerard Gallant, 123 for 156 for a percentage of 78.8%, although it had dipped in the latter part of his tenure as Head Coach.

Peter DeBoer’s arrival seemed to have breathed fresh life into the penalty kill, killing off power plays at an 88 percent clip.

However, it has nosedived again after allowing six power play goals in the last three games, including three goals on the man advantage on Tuesday.

The Knights are ranked 22nd on the penalty kill (78.0) and that isn’t going to get the job done either down the stretch or in the postseason.

It isn’t an exact science when it comes to trying to work out what exactly the problem is, although it is clear that the absence of William Karlsson hasn’t helped.

However, the coaching staff will have a lot of work to do to ensure that they try and get this penalty kill back to a certain level, otherwise it could be a long summer for this team.

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