Party like it’s 2021!
For the first time this season the Golden Knights will play the same team in consecutive games. It’s a fairly rare occurrence in a normal season, but was basically the entire schedule in the COVID shortened 56-game 2021 year.
The Golden Knights host the Blues tonight at T-Mobile Arena before both teams travel to face off with each other again on Wednesday in St. Louis.
I’ve always enjoyed (consecutive games against the same opponent) for the rivalry part of it. Whatever happens tonight, one of the teams is going to be angry going into the next game and that can make for a better game. -Bruce Cassidy
This is the only time all year VGK will take on the same opponent in consecutive games, which is unfortunate because it’s a situation Vegas has thrived in over the years.
In the 2021 season the Golden Knights played 20 pairs of games that were two-game series against the same opponent. This does not count when the teams would play each other four consecutive times, which happened twice. 10 times both games were played at home and the other 10 both were on the road. Vegas’ overall record in those game was 29-10-1.
The Golden Knights were almost perfect in the first game of the consecutive home games. They went 9-0-1 with the lone loss coming in shootout to the Wild. They followed those games up going 7-3-0 in the second home game. It was a little tougher on the road that year as they went 6-4-0 in the first game and 7-3-0 in the second.
Of the 20 pairs of games, the Golden Knights won at least one game 18 times and won both 11 times.
Amazingly, the results are even better when this type of schedule quirk happens in a normal regular season. Since their inception in 2017, the Golden Knights have played the same opponent in consecutive games nine times. Their overall record in those 18 games is a stellar 13-3-2.
The first time we saw this was the second and third games in franchise history against the Coyotes. Vegas won in OT in Arizona and then came back to “beat the shit out of” the Coyotes in the team’s first ever home game.
The situation the Golden Knights find themselves in tonight and Wednesday is the one they’ve been best at too. They’ve had three home/road sets like this and they are 6-0-0 in the games winning both at home and on the road each time.
Nothing is ever guaranteed in the NHL, and the Golden Knights are going to have to continue playing like they have the last seven periods if they want to keep their success going in this situation. But, if they win them both, Vegas may have to start leading a charge to reinstate the 2021 schedule format.
