(Photo Credit: @mnwild on X/Twitter)
Last night, the Golden Knights got their butts kicked by the Minnesota Wild, one of the Western Conference elites. Two nights earlier, VGK gave up multiple two-goal leads and a late game-tying goal to Colorado, ultimately losing in shootout, to another one of the Western Conference elites. About a week earlier, Vegas found themselves in a 4-0 hole in Edmonton and went on to lose in regulation to yet another one of the Western Conference elites.
You’re probably recognizing a trend, and it’s a troubling one.
This season, the Golden Knights are winless in nine games against teams currently sitting in playoff position by points percentage. That’s the Avalanche, Stars, Wild, Oilers, Ducks, Kings, and Kraken. VGK are a combined 0-3-6 against those teams and have a goal differential of -12.
Going back to last year, Vegas have now lost 12 straight games against Western Conference playoff opponents. They have just one win (over Minnesota last year) in their last 17 games and have a record of 1-9-7 in those games.
It’s a bit better against the best teams in the Eastern Conference, but still nothing to get excited about. VGK have won four of their 12 games against the East’s best for a record of 4-5-3.
Thus, VGK have a combined record of 4-8-9 against this year’s current playoff teams. Four wins in 21 games. A points percentage of .405, which would be the worst in the NHL… by a lot (Chicago .447).
Of course, that means they are a stellar 13-1-2 against non-playoff opponents, including three wins over San Jose, who are currently in a playoff spot by total points.
In VGK’s first eight seasons, they have never finished with fewer than 10 wins against Western Conference playoff teams. In a full season, they’ve never ended a season with fewer than 16 wins against all playoff teams, while they’ve eclipsed 20 in each of the last four seasons. Again, they currently have four, and the season is nearly halfway gone.
| Season | vs. West | vs. East | Total | Points Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25‑26 | 1-6-6 | 4-4-4 | 5-10-10 | 0.400 |
| 24‑25 | 12‑7‑4 | 8‑7‑1 | 20‑14‑5 | 0.577 |
| 23‑24 | 14‑6‑2 | 7‑9‑0 | 21‑15‑2 | 0.579 |
| 22‑23 | 13‑8‑3 | 9‑5‑2 | 22‑13‑5 | 0.613 |
| 21‑22 | 13‑11‑2 | 7‑7‑2 | 20‑18‑4 | 0.524 |
| 20‑21 | 13‑9‑2 | N/A | 13‑9‑2 | 0.583 |
| 19‑20 | 11‑6‑1 | 6‑6‑4 | 17‑12‑5 | 0.574 |
| 18‑19 | 10‑12‑1 | 6‑9‑1 | 16‑21‑2 | 0.436 |
| 17‑18 | 14‑7‑3 | 10‑5‑1 | 24‑12‑4 | 0.650 |
Here’s a little positive history for you, though. In 2022-23, the year the Golden Knights went on to win the Stanley Cup, they began the season with a record of 7-7-2 against the Western Conference playoff teams. They finished the year winning six of the final eight and then cruised through the postseason with a glorious 16-6 record against the best teams in the world.
Injuries have obviously hampered this year’s team, and even with Jack Eichel seemingly on the mend, full health doesn’t appear to be coming any time soon. But if the ultimate goal remains to win the Stanley Cup, they’re going to have to start proving they can beat the better teams in the league, no matter who is in the lineup.
Pistol Pete
I don’t give a shit about the record against these teams. Nothing the fans can do anything about. No point in crying over spilt milk. Besides still like the CAR sweep and a great performance against the Avs with a short roster the same short roster that disadvantaged us against the Wild. Here’s to better health. Onward and upward.
Jose
Pistol Pete, I give a shit about losing against those teams. They are losing against those teams because they are currently not at their level. Let’s hope they get there in time for the playoffs. I feel somewhat optimistic because unlike the people who call for coach firings (beyond stupid). I have huge respect for this roster which is filled with Stanley Cup winners. They consistently win against the lower tiered teams which shows me that they don’t play down to their opponents, showing pride and true professionalism. I can’t bet against this group.
Richie-Rich
Lots of crying over statistical milk. The VGK have been competitive all year long. I’m not worried . Solve the slow starts, quicker to the puck and take away space and gaps.
Laurence Schiff
Without Eichel Theo and Karlsson we’re not icing a Cup contending roster. But this isn’t the team we’ll go into the playoffs with so have patience.
Jose
They are a good team, not a great team, maybe not even a contender and that’s okay. I’m wondering if the fans that whine after every single loss and think this team that is ranked 7th out of 32 is terrible, will still be around in the bad times when they actually are bad in reality because those times will come. Every team will go through that. They are 7th in the league in points percentage which matters since this is a points accumulation league. Not too shabby especially considering they have been without Eichel, Karlsson, Theodore and Stone for considerable parts of the season.
I don’t believe that this team even with everyone healthy would defeat Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Edmonton or Florida in a playoff series. I think those teams are a tier above. The goaltending is not good enough, Hill, Hart and Schmid don’t appear capable of providing the exceptional goaltending required in games in which the defense is not strong, they don’t steal games. They are missing one sniper which I don’t think is available at the trade deadline. They lack some toughness. Kiefer Sherwood would be a nice add at the deadline and Lauzon could help if he would stay out of the penalty box.
The fans who complain, bitch, whine, cry after every loss and call for coach firings annoy the shit out of me but it’s tolerable because atleast they are talking hockey and not politics. That parasitic virus is gone. I don’t think those fans will be around when this team will inevitable have some lean years in the future.
Some good news. It doesn’t matter what the team looks like now, it’s what they look like in March and going into the playoffs matter. Adin Hill will be back and rested for a full playoff run. Although Hill has not reached the level he had since the Stanley Cup run, at least he has been there before unlike Hart and Schmid and it wasn’t that long ago. Mark Stone when in the lineup has been a force. Mitch Marner is getting better and more comfortable on this team and could have an explosive second half. The defense has been competent without Pietrangelo.
The sky is not falling. This is a good team. The competitive window is still open. I think the best is yet to come from this years team.
Pistol Pete
Very nice post Jose thanks for that.
Frank
Excellent post Jose. The sky is not falling, and we’ve yet to play our best hockey. This team is quite capable of going on a heater the second half of the season, especially when we get back to full strength. In the meantime, keep stacking points when and where we can.
JB
Agree Jose !
Larry
Let me play devils advocate:
While the sky may not be falling, there are certainly cracks in it, and those cracks need to be fixed up to and including the trade deadline.
I want more than anything and have said in the past the championship window may very well still be open, but I don’t think we are a ‘good’ team at the moment the way we are presently constructed, and I don’t know how management can solve that issue.
Yes we have had injuries, and yes more than likely it has affected our overall record, but guess what, every team has injuries, every team loses an important player or players, next man up, fingers in the dyke, stop the bleeding, onward and upward, it’s an excuse not an answer.
Scott
Not every team has injuries. The Avs have been incredibly healthy. Oilers had Hyman injured, but that’s all. They are much better with simply getting him back. There is no way the VGK don’t improve vastly once we have Eichel, Karlsson, Theo and Hill back. This is a major factor and cannot be overstated.
VGK fan
Id like to believe what you are saying Scott that they will be vastly improved, but even when healthy they werent playing great or even good hockey, maybe its just the long regular season, maybe its this maybe its that, time will tell starting tomorrow.
Scott
They were healthy for 7 games before Stone went down. Then Hill and Karlsson. Finally, Eichel after that. There has never been enough time for VGK to show itself.
Scott
Noah Hanifin as well. Didn’t mean to downplay the importance of his injury.
TS
Great post, Jose..love your reasonable, realistic assessment. Our injuries have occurred relatively early in the season, plenty of time to recover and be in full force at Playoff time— providing we actually MAKE those Playoffs. That’s my concern, at this point. The losing trend all season cannot continue, or the team will be watching OTHER teams in the Playoffs from their couches at home!
I’m also realistic. This season hasn’t been a winning one. Lots of injuries,, gaps in the roster, lapses in play and continuity. Hopefully, with our injured guys returning to play at some point soon, the team will make up for the constant rotations and different lineups, and Cassidy’s need to do so. We sorely need those impactful players back!
Richie-Rich
I think we have to take into account that winning takes more than a good manager, HC, and system. It takes locker room cohesion. Take a look at the teams that won back-to-back Cups in recent history (Penguins, Lightning and Panthers). The Golden Knights lost most of its bottom 6 forwards, key defensemen (Pietrangelo and Martinez), and a key spark plug and team favorite Marchy. I believe that large of a roster turnover is why the VGK continues to struggle to find its identity. Some of the acquisitions have not panned out, Saad, Sissons and Lauzon. Despite all of this, the VGK have been competitive in almost every game this season with just a few exceptions.
This team is talented enough to make the playoffs, but they need more production from the bottom 6 and must improve significantly on defense and puck management to get there. These problems are not going to be fixed with trades. I’d like to see some Silver Knights given a chance to crack into the lineup and make a difference on the 4th line.
Jack Hammer
Looks like it will line up like this tomorrow.
Barbashev-Eichel-Bowman
Marner-Howden-Stone
Dorofeyev-Hertl-Holtz
Saad-Sissons-Kolesar
Jack Hammer
Breaking news……..
William Karlsson will not be available for the Olympics. Tough break for Sweden as he was expected to be on the team.
knights fan in minny
Good he needs to be ready for the stretch run
JB
Obsolutely! I hope Theo doesn’t play either. But Jack and Stoney will be? Marner?
Scott
Jack, Stoney and Mitch are all in according to NHL Radio today. The teams were leaked (Jack was previously named). We will see if that’s true but no reason to believe it’s not.
Pistol Pete
Marner fastest to first 40 points as a Golden Knight in VGK history (37 games). Took Eichel 48 but then he was coming out of that neck surgery and a long layoff.
Pistol Pete
Took Eichel 109 games to get 100 pts, Marchessault 111 games and Karlsson 112 games. We’ll see if Mitch can better that (based on his career pace it takes him 88 games to get 100 pts).
ID10T w/ a Ba1100n
Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Who cares how many points he has of they aren’t lifting the cup. The way the VGK has been playing they will have a long golfing summer.
Curious question how many sloppy passes has your boy Mitchy had when he should’ve shot. Too many!
JB
We welcome back the big guy today. Hope they give him a tribute. Marchy also back. We NEED this win today badly!
TS
Noon game today, naptime for players. Gonna be a real wake- up call, if the boys aren’t rested and ready to battle.
JB
Hey, Happy New Year everyone! Let’s have a better one in 2026, eh!
TS
Right back atcha, JB! GO KNIGHTS!!
knights fan in minny
Same to you JB Let’s start off the new year with a win and hang a 5 spot on this crappy team Nashville