Are you ready for another East Coast trip, dear reader? The Vegas Golden Knights will head to Boston, then Canada, for four games. The festivities start on January 22 when Jack Eichel returns home with the Golden Knights to play the Boston Bruins.
There's one date that everyone has circled on their calenders. Yes, it's the one you're thinking about and it involves a former "Core Four" member making his way to Ontario (more on that in a bit).
But there are other "reunion games" that Golden Knights fans should watch for! Yes, there are games where you're going to frigid Montreal for a challenging contest. You also get to see Nick Suzuki thriving with his club, making Vegas hockey fans happy and... a little sad?
Oh well. You can't win them all. But there are three "reunion" games altogether that deserve some love. These will be must-see TV for hockey fans, whether it's success against your former club, ridiculous levels of drama, or both. Let's dive into the nitty gritty with the most obvious pick...
1.) Mitch Marner vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs: January 23
This is the big one and with good reason: Marner will face his old team for the first time since leaving the Maple Leafs. You can make what you will about the "reunion." But there will be fireworks.
If you heard the Maple Leafs fans at T-Mobile Arena earlier in January, you heard a small—yet vocal—contingency of Maple Leafs fans booing Marner whenever he touched the puck. Turn that up to 100X when the action takes place at ScotiaBank Arena on Friday.
But this should be a big game because the Maple Leafs aren't slouches. They're in the thick of a wild-card race and are seeing superstars like Auston Matthews carry the load. That's enough to make Golden Knights fans say, "TGIF!"
2.) Bruce Cassidy vs. the Boston Bruins: January 22
Remember when Bruce Cassidy was fired by the Boston Bruins? He was picked up by the Golden Knights shortly after and... the rest is history. Still, there was talk of a toxic culture where he would berate his players brutally.
Well, fans will get to see Cassidy ship up to Boston like the Dropkick Murphys. The Golden Knights' head coach brings a Stanley Cup with him, along with Jack Eichel. Like Toronto, this will be a challenging game for Vegas.
The good news? Cassidy won't face a legion of boos from Bruins fans the way that Marner will from Maple Leafs fans. The bad news? This will be the start of a brutal road trip.
3.) Mark Stone vs. the Ottawa Senators: January 25
The Captain has had an illustrious career facing his old club. He's scored four goals and eight assists in seven games against the Senators, with four games being multi-point games.
On top of that, Stone has eight goals and nine assists in January entering Thursday's slate of games. He's scored goals in all but two games in January, kickstarting an unusually productive month for the Golden Knights forward.
Watch for him to crank up the heat against his former club. He's already projected to hit 31 goals and 51 assists, despite that projection hitting 55 games. He could explode for perhaps his best year, with a big game on Sunday catapulting him to new heights.