Where's Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin? Any guesses on their whereabouts?
That seems to be the new "Where's Waldo," only it comes with a Vegas twist. The two Vegas Golden Knights stars haven't returned with the team yet, taking a detour to Miami. According to Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Team USA's flight had changed after blizzard-like conditions hit New York City. Therefore, the Americans changed their itinerary to South Beach, making like LeBron James and taking their talents there.
That could mean that the two Olympians meet the Golden Knights in Washington D.C., and attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address beforehand. But Golden Knights fans aren't thinking too much about that. Instead, they're worried about the potential ramifications of not having Eichel for a bit.
Okay, he's not mysteriously injured like he was earlier in the season. Not having Eichel around hurt the team during that time. However, this doesn't seem as dire of a situation as fans would think. After all, they just spent a couple of weeks winning a gold medal some time zones away. What's one game going to do for the Boston boys?
Why the Vegas Golden Knights shouldn't worry too much about Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin not being around... yet
Let's explore this scenario for a second. The first game of the five-game slate will be against the Los Angeles Kings. Now, you've heard of the Kings acquiring Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers before the Olympic break. However, the Golden Knights are the type of team that creates plans for players like Panarin, making this much easier than anticipated.
Plus, there's a catch with the upcoming matchup on Wednesday. Remember when Shea Theodore suffered an upper-body injury in last season's 4 Nations Face-Off? Well, the Kings had an injury of their own, losing Kevin Fiala to a season-ending lower-body injury.
On the other side, losing a player like Fiala hurts Los Angeles immensely. Suddenly, they're giving up one key piece to get another, leaving them literally running in circles. If the Golden Knights can contain the Kings' newest acquisition on Wednesday, things don't look as dicey.
That leaves us with Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin. Since Eichel debuted with the Golden Knights, Vegas is 21-17-8 all-time without their main superstar. That seems troubling on the surface until you look at the other superstars that Vegas has in its possession. That includes Pavel Dorofeyev and the newly acquired Rasmus Andersson, which should ease the pain for one game.
If Eichel and Hanifin are waiting it out until the Golden Knights come to Washington D.C. on Friday, this won't be a big deal. Traveling seven to nine hours overseas can be incredibly taxing (trust me, I just had this trip a few weeks ago) and draining. So why not wait it out and go all-out in the long haul?