Vegas Golden Knights fans might see their team down and out with a wave of injuries. However, there's a small thing that the Golden Knights desperately needed that's coming up: the annual "Dad's Trip." I mean, who doesn't love a game where your pops comes out to cheer you on? It's as American as apple pie or the Army.
If you don't know the lore behind the annual "Dad's Trip," the Golden Knights win. A lot. Generally, the Golden Knights go into places like Winnipeg and St. Louis and tear the roof off, usually by way of an offensive explosion.
The fun starts on January 2nd in St. Louis against the Blues. What better way to start the annual trip than against a mediocre team that's at the bottom of the Central Division? It's like a gimme putt while you're out on the golf course...
...Except there's a slope on the green. That slope could trip up the Golden Knights, especially since they've lost six of their last seven games. Nothing's a guarantee in this day and age, especially when you're dealing with a wave of injuries. So, let's map a course out to winning on Friday and defeating the lowly Blues, so there's a guarantee on Friday.
The Vegas Golden Knights can't let up on the gas pedal against the St. Louis Blues
I know, I know. It seems rather cliche, especially when you're going up against a non-contending team like the St. Louis Blues. However, the same thing was said about the Predators, who supposedly have no shot of making the Stanley Cup playoffs. Yet, the same thing happened on Wednesday when Vegas blew a 2-0 lead (yes, you can blow a 2-0 lead in the first period!) and lost, 4-2.
Part of that was letting things snowball into something worse. Brett Howden gets called for a hooking penalty that leads to a power play goal for Nashville, by way of Steven Stamkos's 600th career goal. That also included (sadly) Keegan Kolesar getting into a scrum after Michael Bunting's rough hit on Brayden McNabb.
If you get off to a fast start like you did on Wednesday, it's best not to let one goal deter you. That means staying out of the penalty box for hooking and not letting St. Louis have any hope. Otherwise, it'll be an upset worthy of college football lore. Trust me, you don't want any of that.
The Golden Knights must use a similar blueprint from their last matchup against the Blues
Let's look back at the last matchup between these two teams, shall we? The festivities were on November 15 and the Golden Knights had one of their few complete performances of the 2025-26 season.
We're talking about Akira Schmid stopping 22 of 23 shots. We're also talking about role players such as Brandon Saad and Noah Hanifin getting their first goals of the season. Overall, it was a strong performance where... *drumroll please*
...The Golden Knights had a 2-0 lead after the first period. It was a suffocating performance where Vegas outshot St. Louis, 34-23. On top of that, the power play went 1-for-3 on the night! As Ice Cube would say, "Today Was A Good Day."
The moral of the story is don't get complacent and don't look down on your competition. This has been a boogeyman for the Golden Knights in recent years, where they've coasted through months like January. That can't happen on Friday night, especially with fans getting uneasy about the growing pile of injuries. That pile's enough to even make a hockey dad faint.