Overall: A
Bruce Cassidy has always done an excellent job getting the Golden Knights off to fast starts. He's been better this season, unleashing an overwhelming attack on opposing defenses. The transition game has never been stronger, Jack Eichel is looking like the elite center he's always been capable of being, and Alex Pietrangelo's crew have been extraordinary.
Thus, the Golden Knights walk into Friday with the most points in the NHL (59) and lead the Pacific Division. They're on the fast track to home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs. T-Mobile Arena hasn't been an easy place to play, either. The Golden Knights have a record of 17-5-0 at home this season.
That's why they deserve an A for their efforts. Nobody expected the Golden Knights to sit atop the league after the tumultuous summer they supposedly had. Still, the team plays like they have a chip on their shoulder, ready to prove the naysayers wrong. That could carry them to their second Stanley Cup in three seasons, which would rile up those critics into oblivion.