To put things in perspective, the Vegas Golden Knights have historically sucked in January. They have an all-time record of 43-35-14 entering Tuesday's game against the Winnipeg Jets. With the team already injured to the max, Vegas is staring down the barrel of another mediocre January.
This season is no different, with Vegas losing its first two games of the dreaded month. When you lose to the St. Louis Blues and the Chicago Blackhawks, things start getting a little dicey in Las Vegas. Suddenly, fans are calling for the coach's head and are panicking about missing the playoffs.
While the history suggests that the Golden Knights have historically stunk in this month, not all Januarys are made the same. In fact, some are much better than others (more on that in a bit).
So, let's create an all-time list of the best Januaries in Vegas Golden Knights history. Yes, there's one that stands out above the rest. But we must get through the frigid duds before we get to the sweet stuff.
8.) The 2020 season (4-5-1)
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Golden Knights hit a rough patch during January. Between January 5 and January 20, Vegas went 1-5-1, including a four-game losing streak. Three of those losses during the four-game skid were at home, too.
7.) The 2023 season (4-6-2)
Ironically, the Cup-winning season had one of the worst January showings in franchise history. The Golden Knights went 3-4-0 during a seven-game homestand, including bad losses to the Los Angeles Kings (5-1 on January 7, 2023) and the Dallas Stars (4-0 on January 16, 2023). Still, it doesn't matter unless you win the Stanley Cup, right?
6.) The 2022 season (4-4-3)
Like the 2023 season, the Golden Knights had a mediocre January homestand. They went 2-3-2 in the seven-game stretch, with four losses being decided by a goal. Ultimately, this month combined with a wave of injuries to form the first (and only) missed postseason for the Golden Knights.
5.) The 2025 season (6-6-3)
One thing you'll notice with some of these seasons is that the Golden Knights started the month off strong. That's no different here, where Vegas feasted on the Philadelphia Flyers, the Buffalo Sabres, and the San Jose Sharks. They outscored these opponents, 12-5, during these contests.
However, the Golden Knights went 3-6-3 after January 7. Still, that didn't stop Vegas from winning the Pacific Division and rattling off 50 wins. That included a 4-1 victory on January 26, 2025, over the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers.
4.) The 2024 season (7-5-1)
The Golden Knights started this month off slowly with a 2-4-0 record. That included the infamous Winter Classic debacle, where Joey Daccord shut out the Golden Knights. But Vegas rebounded nicely after a 3-1 loss on January 13, 2024, against the Calgary Flames. The Golden Knights' record for the rest of January after that loss was 5-1-1.
3.) The 2019 season (6-4-0)
Believe it or not, this January iteration started off strong, a la 2025. In January 2019, the Golden Knights started the month with four straight wins. However, the finish was rather flat as they went 2-4-0 after defeating the New York Rangers on January 8, 2019. Vegas would go on to be eliminated by the San Jose Sharks in the infamous seven-game first-round series that year.
2.) The 2018 season (7-3-2)
In what was the month that catapulted the Misfits to Stanley Cup contender status, the Golden Knights played their strongest hockey here. They outscored their opponents during this January session, 36-24. That included five games where they held their opponents to a goal or less, going 4-1-0 in that situation.
1.) The 2021 season (5-1-1)
While this was primarily against weaker competition, such as the Anaheim Ducks and the Arizona Coyotes, the Golden Knights still had an outstanding January to start the 2021 season. They outscored their opponents, 23-16, and even pitched a shutout on January 24, 2021. In fact, only one game saw the Golden Knights get outscored by more than one goal (January 22, 2021, when they lost at the Arizona Coyotes, 5-2).