The Vegas Golden Knights must make this adjustment against the Utah Hockey Club

On November 2, the upstart Utah Hockey Club was looking to end the perfect home run of the Vegas Golden Knights. They started the game up, 2-0, behind goals from Logan Cooley and Ian Cole. Vegas eventually came back and won the game in overtime, thanks to Brett Howden's jaw-dropping goal.

Now, this perfect run at T-Mobile Arena would eventually end at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes. However, the "Hockey Club" came close to stopping that perfect run. Of course, that same "Hockey Club" had a decisive home victory over that same Hurricanes team, 4-1, on Wednesday.

The two teams from that game on November 2nd will meet again. Only this time, they're playing this contest at Delta Center, formerly home of the Utah Jazz. The newest "expansion" franchise hopes to become less anonymous than their basketball counterparts, which hasn't done much since the Karl Malone and John Stockton days.

With a record of 7-6-3, they're in the thick of the Central Division playoff race. Not the top of the divisional race, though. No, that belongs to the Winnipeg Jets (15-2-0, 30 points). But a young, hungry group led by Cooley (nine assists) and Clayton Keller (six goals, 14 points) looks to upset the hockey establishment.

But what about the Golden Knights? What's the one adjustment they must make from that contest on November 2nd?

How the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Utah Hockey Club on Friday

On November 2nd, the Utah Hockey Club was beating the Vegas Golden Knights badly in the transition game. Logan Cooley's goal in the first period is a shining example of this.

Mark Stone was pickpocketed in the neutral zone by Jack McBain, who dumped the puck to the opposite end of the board. Nick Bjugstad retrieves the loose puck and fires a pass to Cooley, who blasted a one-timer past Adin Hill for the first goal.

Winning Friday's contest starts with dominating the transition game and neutral zone. That means players like Alex Pietrangelo (24 giveaways, five takeaways this season) must take better care of the puck.

That also means pouncing on said giveaways. Utah has the most giveaways per game this season (17.88 per game), hampering their offensive game in 2024-25. While the Golden Knights aren't apt to take the puck away (5.50 takeaways per game, 16th in the NHL), they must forecheck better.

That's where the bottom line comes in. While players like Pietrangelo will clog shooting lanes and get their opponents off the puck, others like Keegan Kolesar must press Utah hard. That way, they can create more opportunities in transition and rule the neutral zone.

Utah is one of the trickier teams to play against in the NHL. They love flying up and down the ice, leaving their opponents on their heels. The Golden Knights can't let this happen, especially without a superstar like Mark Stone. Otherwise, it'll be another long road contest for Vegas.