Saturday offers the Vegas Golden Knights a chance to get back on track. Before the 4 Nations Face-Off break, they won two straight road games. Beating the New Jersey Devils and the Boston Bruins was the necessary confidence-builder for a reeling team. After all, a bad January consisting of a 6-6-3 record can do that to a team.
Their opponent? The Vancouver Canucks, who've had more drama than a reality TV show. First, J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson start fighting, leaving Miller to be traded to the New York Rangers. The reigning Pacific Division champions have also been severely underwhelming, sitting in fourth place with 63 points. On top of that, Pettersson hasn't been 100%.
However, Vegas's opponent might be turning their fortunes around. Coming out of the break, the Canucks are 6-3-1 in their previous 10 games, catapulting themselves back into the Stanley Cup playoff race. Could an inevitable Quinn Hughes and company save the season? Stay tuned. Things will get interesting in British Columbia.
But Vancouver coming to T-Mobile Arena is only scratching the surface. An unforeseen circumstance has popped up for the Golden Knights, leaving them down a power play merchant. Shea Theodore will be week-to-week with a broken wrist, hampering the offense. But it goes beyond the power play, though.
The injuries are piling up for the Vegas Golden Knights
Losing Theodore hurts the Golden Knights in many ways. First, Jack Eichel loses another running mate in transition and on the power play, hurting the offensive attack. Throughout the season, they've done well lighting the lamp, averaging 3.29 goals per game (tied for sixth in the NHL). But losing the defenseman will leave a significant gap for quality scoring opportunities and setting up rebounds.
He's not the only player sitting on the sidelines, though. Losing William Karlsson (lower-body injury) also hurts the team. He's excellent on special teams, acting as a scoring threat on both the penalty kill and power play. Not having that 200-ft. player who carries significant depth down the middle hurts.
These injuries put Bruce Cassidy in a bind regarding creating his lineup. Suddenly, Brayden McNabb will need a complementary transition defenseman with him. There's also a void on the penalty kill, which has already struggled mightily this season (76.7%, 21st in the NHL). Throughout the season, Vegas has stayed relatively healthy. However, recent injuries leave certain positions exposed, putting the team in a tougher position.
Those pesky Edmonton Oilers
When the best player in the NHL scores the championship-clinching goal in the 4 Nations Face-Off, one would expect him to go on a tear. After all, scoring 22 goals and 49 assists in 2024-25 draws plenty of attention in the hockey universe.
However, those numbers for Connor McDavid aren't up to his standard. Fans expect him to run wild through the league, leading the Edmonton Oilers to the Pacific Division title. That's why they have 72 points and are in a dogfight with the Vegas Golden Knights for the division. Both teams have an identical remaining SOS left (Edmonton's 24th with a percentage of .544, while Vegas is 25th at .541). Therefore, whoever hops on a massive run will take the crown.
This will fall on many factors, ranging from how Cassidy preps his boys right down to Adin Hill being a stellar goaltender as he was in December. The team knows Edmonton isn't going away, especially with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way. Therefore, they must take an "all-hands-on-deck approach" throughout the regular season. That even includes Eichel, who must carry that 4 Nations momentum with him the rest of the way.