When you're the Vegas Golden Knights and you're winning an endless amount of games, you have nothing to worry about. You're atop the league with 59 points and won 13 of your last 15 games, proving skeptics and critics wrong. There's nothing better than being the Golden Knights right now.
Meanwhile, the New York Islanders are dead last in the Metropolitan Division with 37 points. You've won four of your last 10 games and seen Ilya Sorokin (2.92 GAA, .898 save percentage, -1.8 goals saved above expected) fall from grace. It's not a good sight for a formerly competitive team suddenly looking to sell.
To make matters worse, the Islanders must face a red-hot home team that's 17-4-0 at T-Mobile Arena this season. Considering the Islanders are 8-9-5 away from UBS Arena, that's bad news for the road team.
Time to cue up Wade Barrett, mate.
But perhaps there's a chance the Islanders steal a game on Thursday night. After all, anything can happen on any given sports day. Fans aren't forgetting the dud on November 30, where Alex Pietrangelo and the Golden Knights were exhausted and flat. But the Golden Knights, led by Pietrangelo and Adin Hill, are rolling. Will that matter against the Islanders?
Previewing the Vegas Golden Knights and New York Islanders
One thing that stands out with the New York Islanders is their special teams. Well, it's not as special as fans on Long Island would hope. It isn't solely the power play or the penalty kill. It's the unit altogether that's been lackluster.
First, let's start with the power play. The Islanders have the league's worst power play at 11.0%. Their best power play merchants consist of winger Anders Lee (three goals and two assists on the unit) and center Kyle Palmieri (two goals and three assists on the unit). That should relieve the Vegas Golden Knights, who have allowed four power play goals in the last three games (seven opportunities).
That means successful exits and disrupting the play. Looking at Tuesday's game against the San Jose Sharks, the Golden Knights struggled in this aspect. Take this power play goal for the Sharks as a perfect example.
Timothy Liljegren absolutely buried this 🤯 pic.twitter.com/AwHN1ZArme
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 8, 2025
Alex Pietrangelo was preoccupied with Tyler Toffoli, almost initiating a slashing penalty. The Golden Knights were drawn out, leading Liljegren to fire a wrist shot past Ilya Samsonov for a power play goal. Staying closer to the puck and clogging lanes will help the Golden Knights on Thursday, whether it's Adin Hill in net or somebody else.
But what about the power play for the Golden Knights?
Believe it or not, the New York Islanders also possess the league's worst penalty kill (64%). If I had told you that the Vegas Golden Knights power play (25%, tied for sixth heading into Thursday) would have a massive advantage against any penalty kill, you'd laugh me out of the building.
However, that provides a ripe opportunity for the Golden Knights to capitalize. Get your bodies up front, have crisp passing, and get Victor Olofsson involved. These things will help the Golden Knights score goals, especially with the man advantage.
This should be a game that the Golden Knights win on Thursday. Adin Hill and the goaltending have been much better in the past two months. The defensemen, led by Alex Pietrangelo, have picked up the scoring. Considering the Islanders are reeling, expect the Golden Knights to win, 4-2. It certainly sounds better than a Long Island Iced Tea.