Do you know the good thing about winning a gold medal? It's that you can celebrate winning the gold for four years, compared to celebrating a Stanley Cup for a whole year. You can literally shove your superiority in your rival's face much longer, making them cry salty tears that'll fill Lake Mead.
With that, it's time to move off the Olympics and go straight back to Vegas Golden Knights hockey. Currently, the Golden Knights are atop the Pacific Division with 68 points. You'd better send your thanks to Vegas for all of those overtime losses because the team would've been in a far worse position.
So, you're wondering what the team can do to position itself better. You want to know how they can truly live to their full potential and become the dynamic team that everyone expected them to be during the preseason.
Well, dear reader, there are three things the Golden Knights must do to make that happen. Obviously, winning is at the forefront, especially with March coming up (the Golden Knights are 69-34-8 all-time in March). With that, let's concoct some X's and O's like John Madden and see what Vegas must do after the Olympic break.
1.) The lower units must step up
Vegas Golden Knights fans were greeted with a pleasant sight on Monday, seeing Brandon Saad and Colton Sissons practice in regular jerseys. That's a promising sign for their returns, indicating that they're not far off.
That also means the lower units must be on point after the break. Now that doesn't mean that guys like Saad and Keegan Kolesar should make like Wayne Gretzky. But it means that the units must score on the off-nights for the top players. That way, the pressure is eased off the group in tougher games.
2.) The goaltending must be better in big spots
Now, this isn't another rant towards Adin Hill. After all, even Akira Schmid has some room to improve. However, the goaltending overall must be on point for Vegas. Players like Brayden McNabb are returning to the mix, which should ease the pressure on the back end.
That means that the netminding must be on point. The looks should get much better with players like McNabb taking away space. It's on players like Schmid and Hill to take control and play to their abilities.
3.) Get off to faster starts
A common issue with the Golden Knights in 2025-26 has been the team getting off to slower starts. Vegas has struggled to generate offensive zone time early, leaving teams to expose them in transition. It didn't matter if it was off a bad turnover or an open man.
Getting off to a fast start begins with the five-game road trip. Here, you'll find surprising teams that aren't taking any prisoners, including the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Detroit Red Wings, and the Buffalo Sabres. If Vegas allows the first goal and finds themselves in an early deficit, those teams aren't letting them back in.