5 players who must bring their A-Game for the Golden Knights to retake the lead in the Pacific
The Vegas Golden Knights are quite a few points out of the lead in the Pacific Division, but this talent-laden team can storm back anytime.
The Vegas Golden Knights have suffered through an injury bug, and it’s one reason why they lost steam after a stellar start. But the defending Stanley Cup Champions aren’t taking a step back when their lineup is at or at least close to healthy once again, and one particular player’s return alone should catapult Vegas.
But there are also quite a few other players who have either been healthy all season or have finally regained their health and can stand to bring the best versions of themselves forward. If they do that, look for the Golden Knights to provide a legitimate challenge for the Pacific-leading Vancouver Canucks. Who will make the biggest impact for Vegas to give them the best chance to retake the lead?
Jack Eichel’s season of dominance must continue when he returns
Jack Eichel hasn’t seen the ice in nearly a month, but that will be changing once he’s cleared to play again.
It had been a while since Eichel eclipsed the point-per-game mark, with it last occurring in the 2019-20 season when he scored 78 in just 68 contests. Before he went down with a lower-body injury, Eichel had 44 points in 42 games, with 19 goals, setting the stage for a career-high. Unfortunately, that won’t happen since he’s missed so much time, but it doesn’t mean he won’t get back into a groove early and continue what has been a dominant season in Vegas.
He’s also not one of those players who will perform well on just one side of the ice, as his 47 takeaways show us he can deny developing plays when the Golden Knights don’t have the puck. However, Vegas will benefit more offensively than anything else when Eichel returns, and expect them to play like the best team in the Western Conference when he’s cleared to suit up.
Mark Stone needs to keep up his career-best production
In Jack Eichel’s absence, Mark Stone has taken charge of the group, and overall, he’s put up 50 points in 51 games. Producing at a near-points-per-game pace, Stone can help the Golden Knights improve by taking just a few extra shots per week or making another textbook pass or two to set up a score, something that will be more than possible when Eichel returns.
But even without Eichel, Stone has played well enough in the interim. In the nine games Eichel has missed, Stone has 10 points, three goals, a plus-4 rating, and a shooting percentage of 14.3 percent. His average time-on-ice has also increased to 20:29, up from his overall average of 19:36, showing us that even the coaching staff trusts him to be the main guy.
Ideally, Eichel returns, and Stone’s numbers will continue to trend north, which helps the entire team. But even if we don’t see Eichel return immediately and if Stone keeps averaging over a point-per-game in Vegas’ most productive forward’s absence, it still increases the odds that they can close in on Vancouver. Either way, let’s see Stone take his game up one more notch and watch the Golden Knights benefit.
Adin Hill’s health remains pristine from here on out
Adin Hill, if he stays healthy from now until April, will be a Vezina candidate, and he could even work his way into becoming a finalist. Sure, he’s seen just 18 games so far through February 7th, but his numbers are among the best in the NHL, with an outrageous 0.938 save percentage, a 1.88 GAA, and a quality starts percentage of 0.778.
Because of injuries, Hill ceded time to Logan Thompson, who has also performed well, but nowhere near Hill’s level. Therefore, if Vegas plans on retaking the lead in the Pacific and putting themselves in the best chance to land a top seed for the postseason, they cannot afford to see Hill miss more time with injuries.
This is a player who has so far faced 28.7 shots on goal per game, so his play is not all a product of sound defense. Vegas has a talented franchise goaltender who will bail them out of a bad game and, in turn, require little from his skaters to bring home two points on most nights. He’s been the best in the league, so now, health will ultimately determine whether the Knights have a franchise player between the pipes in most contests.
Ivan Barbashev’s all-around game should keep working in a supporting role
When you think of the top five players on any team who must bring their A-Game, star players or major contributors come to mind. But there is often a player or two in the next tier who must also come through if a team wants to take their play to another level.
Some of the NHL’s best teams boast four solid lines, and players like Ivan Barbashev are among the best in the business in the middle-six. Barbashev is a cut below forwards like Eichel and Stone, and he’s never scored over 60 points in a single season. But since he arrived in Vegas, he’s been a big reason behind their recent success, dating back to last year’s Stanley Cup win when he had 18 points and seven goals in 22 contests.
Through 51 games this year, Barbashev hasn’t matched that production, but his 30 points show us that he can contribute roughly six-tenths of a point per game, and if he bumps that up to the near 0.7 per game he had through the final 23 matchups of the regular season last year, Vegas just got a lot better. He is right on the cusp of making that happen, so let’s see if he can return to and maintain that production.
Alex Pietrangelo’s two-way approach on the blue line will keep going north
Alex Pietrangelo may be a two-way player, but the blueliner isn’t putting up the same points total as some of his peers across the league. He has 23 in 46 contests, most of which have come in the form of assists at even strength. For the time being, that’s all the Golden Knights need to see from one of their best defensemen.
Defensive point shares are where Pietrangelo’s value stands out, and he’s second on the team at 2.5 through 46 games played. If he, however, increases that closer to what we have seen from Brayden McNabb, who sits at 3.5, then Pietrangelo’s play becomes even more valuable to Vegas during this all-important month of February.
He must also keep doing his part when the Knights don’t have the puck in the defensive zone to make that happen, and his 107 blocks so far indicate that trend will keep improving. Pietrangelo could stand to get more sticks on the puck, however, as his 38 takeaways are on pace to remain even-keel of what we saw from him last season, and they will fall south of the eye-popping 93 he came up with in 2021-22.
feed
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference as of Wednesday, February 7th)