The Golden Knights’s Next Road Trip Is Down South
![LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 12: Mark Stone #61 and Jack Eichel #9 of the Vegas Golden Knights react after Stone scored a goal against the Calgary Flames in overtime to win their game 5-4 at T-Mobile Arena on December 12, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 12: Mark Stone #61 and Jack Eichel #9 of the Vegas Golden Knights react after Stone scored a goal against the Calgary Flames in overtime to win their game 5-4 at T-Mobile Arena on December 12, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/01df3f561b86c987b0f6423931f9e103bc55141f45ff39f499207b47f9fd5450.jpg)
For Bruce Cassidy’s team, it’s simple: keep pressing on the forecheck and generate numerous scoring opportunities. It’s been the Golden Knights’s strength and they’ve played to it extremely well. It’s also led to them being atop the NHL.
This is especially true with the top line, where Mark Stone and Jack Eichel have been on fire recently. Eichel is currently on a 10-game point streak, scoring 16 points (six goals, 10 assists). Vegas’s captain has been equally impressive, scoring 12 points throughout December (four goals and eight assists).
But the offense hasn’t been their only focal point. Mark Stone is tied for the NHL lead in takeaways this season with 37. Who’s he tied with? Leon Draisaitl and Jack Eichel. Overall, Vegas is second as a team with 274. If the Knights want to have a successful trip down south, they must continue to establish the forecheck with positives like this. That starts with Eichel and Stone, where they’ll lead the charge.