The Vegas Golden Knights and Vancouver Canucks have had two different pathways since the 2017-18 season. The Golden Knights have acquired big names like Jack Eichel, compiling a record of 332-184-52 heading into Thursday's game. That run included six Stanley Cup playoff appearances, two Stanley Cup Final appearances, and a championship in 2023.
Meanwhile, the Canucks have remained anonymous since that season. They have a record of 269-232-65 in that span, including two Stanley Cup playoff appearances. Sure, you might've not been as successful as the Golden Knights in that span. But at least you're not the Buffalo Sabres.
That's especially true with the Canucks turning a new leaf. Now, they have the reigning Norris Trophy winner in Quinn Hughes (35 points entering Wednesday) and a strong supporting cast. That includes prominent names such as Elias Pettersson (eight goals, 26 points) and Bruce Cassidy's former adversary, Jake DeBrusk (14 goals, 23 points).
It's no secret the Golden Knights have been successful against most NHL teams. They've taken care of business against franchises such as the San Jose Sharks (25-2-5) and the Seattle Kraken (10-2-1). But what about the Canucks? Do they have the same success against a team north of the border?
The Vegas Golden Knights are 14-4-3 all-time against the Vancouver Canucks
In what shouldn't be a surprise to anybody before the 2023-24 season, the Vegas Golden Knights have a record of 14-4-3 all-time against the Vancouver Canucks. Although Quinn Hughes and company have turned the tide against the Golden Knights by winning two of their last three games, Vegas has held serve.
The biggest blowout loss actually happened twice by four goals. First was on April 6, 2022 at T-Mobile Arena in a 5-1 loss. Here, Jack Eichel kicked off the goal-scoring, only for Vancouver to score five unanswered goals. Two of those came from Elias Pettersson, with one coming on the power play. He also had two assists in the game, making him the contest's de facto MVP.
The other came on November 26, 2022, at--You guessed it--T-Mobile Arena. This time, the Canucks jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two periods. Andrei Kuzmenko scored two goals and an assist, blowing the home team out of the water. Vancouver also scored three power play goals in this game, devastating the Golden Knights's penalty kill.
The largest margin of victory for the Golden Knights came on March 9, 2019, at Rogers Arena. The Golden Knights tripled up the Canucks, 6-2, in this contest, pushing them closer to another Stanley Cup playoff berth. Here, six different Golden Knights stars scored goals, including Alex Tuch, Mark Stone, and Nate Schmidt.
The Golden Knights had five first-period goals in this contest, making this an uphill battle for the home team. Tuch added two assists in the game, along with Colin Miller. The Golden Knights have outscored the Canucks in the all-time series, 83-64.
The Vegas Golden Knights have made their living off torturing their Pacific Division rivals. It doesn't matter if it's the San Jose Sharks or Seattle Kraken. The Golden Knights have established themselves as the division's "gold standard," taking down their competition. That includes the Vancouver Canucks, who haven't had much luck with defeating their divisional adversaries.