When you look at Mark Stone's former club, the Ottawa Senators, you don't see much from the club. They're last in the Atlantic Division with 53 points and are back outside the playoff picture after a surprising 2024-25 season.
Remember those conversations about the Senators being a playoff team with sticking power? Well, those conversations have gone away quickly.
Certainly, this should be an easy game for the Vegas Golden Knights. They've won eight of their past 10 games and are securing more points at the top of the Pacific Division. Man, all those overtime losses certainly helped, eh?
But, it's not as easy as people would love to believe. For one, there's no such thing as a guaranteed victory. You see, sports have a funny way of giving a victory to even the most abysmal teams. There's no such thing as 100% probability of winning until you finish the game.
See, that's why you play the game. That's particularly true given the Senators' strong play in one specific area. That could lead to troubling things if Sunday's game becomes the proverbial barnburner, putting them in the vaunted shootout. Now, that's something no fan wants to see.
The Vegas Golden Knights will be greatly tested by the surprising attack of the Ottawa Senators
Again, looking at the Ottawa Senators offensively doesn't reveal much. Entering Sunday's contest, Ottawa was 12th in the NHL in goals scored per game (3.22). However, there are some caveats to those numbers, starting with the power play.
The unit is 10th in the NHL with a percentage of 22.9%. Players like Dylan Cozens (nine power play goals) and Drake Batherson (seven power play goals) have been welcome to the party, turning the unit into a full-fledged force. Of course, they're not the only ones having fun at this party.
You have your usual suspects, such as Tim Stutzle (23 goals and 29 assists) and Brady Tkachuk (12 goals and 17 assists in 31 games), leading the charge. That puts immense pressure on the Golden Knights not to engage in a literal shootout, turning the heat up on the netminding.
How the Golden Knights can stall the Senators defensively
If there's one place that Tkachuk loves to hang out, it's the offensive zone. According to NHL Edge, the winger spends 49.7% of his time in the offensive zone, tops in the NHL. In fact, the Senators spend the second-most time in the NHL in the offensive zone at 43.8%.
This might sound a little... cliche. But winning the zone battle is a must for the Golden Knights. Dominate the neutral zone and prevent any entries from coming in. That means sealing the middle of the ice and making Ottawa work past the middle.
If they dump the puck? Great. The Golden Knights just doubled up a dump-and-chase team on Friday, relying on redhot hands to take care of business. That can happen again if the Golden Knights can commit to constricting and suffocating them on the defensive front.