On Tuesday night, the Golden Knights recorded 37 shots on goal in their 5-2 opening night victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. It was the most SOG for Vegas in a season debut since 2022, and the 2nd most in an opener ever. Shockingly, Vegas landed 51 shots on opening night in the 2022-23 campaign. Mr. Jack “please shoot more” Eichel registered an astounding seven shots on goal that evening. This season, Eichel has started off with two shots and a 50% shooting percentage.
However, it wasn’t only Vegas’ forwards creating shooting chances on Tuesday night; VGK’s defensemen also got in on the action against the Blackhawks. The Golden Knights received 11 shots from the blueline, including five from Rasmus Andersson and Noah Hanifin. Only Trevor Connelly, Tomas Hertl and Mitch Marner exceeded 3 SOG in Game 1 of 84. Heck, even Jeremy Lauzon took three shots on Chicago’s net. If coach Ryan Craig drew up a game plan that called for more blueline shots, he got it from his group of six.
(Photo Credit: J. Tyge O’Donnell, LVSportsBiz.com)
A focal point for new head coach Ryan Craig this season was building a more balanced blue line, with Shea Theodore, Rasmus Andersson, and Noah Hanifin each anchoring a separate pairing. It came with a concern (which we wrote and talked about extensively) that it could lead to one of the big-name defensemen being underutilized.
On Opening Night, the Golden Knights stuck to that plan, distributing ice time extremely evenly across all three defensive pairings.
We’re aware of (trying to balance the minutes). We have three very good pairs in the sense that they can all defend. I think they all got used as the game went on, and we were fresh by the end. -Ryan Craig
A spread of four minutes between the ice time of the top defenseman and the bottom is impressively low. For comparison, Chicago’s spread between Bowen Byram and Ian Cole was more than 12 minutes. Only two of the other eight teams in action last night were under 10 minutes, and Florida clocked in at a whopping delta of 18 minutes.
Game 1 didn’t start as planned for the Golden Knights. Inside the first minute, they found themselves behind by a goal after a Nikolaj Ehlers breakaway, then Jaccob Slavin hit the crossbar, and finally Ehlers potted a second after getting loose through the neutral zone. Before VGK had recorded its third shot on goal, the Hurricanes already had a 2-0 lead and the building was buzzing.
Then, things settled down after a shot from the point deflected off a Carolina shin pad and into the net. Vegas had stemmed the tide, and from that moment forward, the game completely shifted.
Early, we probably didn’t handle it too well. They put pressure on you. They flip a lot of pucks at the defensemen and usually come with that 2-1-2 on the forecheck. They come really heavy on us. So it’s all about the support, and sometimes you just have to be happy with getting the puck out of the zone and kind of do it to them as they do to us. -Rasmus Andersson
The answer for the Golden Knights was to simplify. Rather than trying to fly around and match Carolina’s speed, VGK looked to make safe, smart plays to slow them down.
I thought after it was 2-0, we kind of adjusted to their speed and started to understand what they’re all about. Now we know they come hard. We weren’t fully prepared for it tonight. We handled it well in the 2nd and 3rd, but now we know. -Brayden McNabb
In the 1st period, Carolina outshot Vegas 12-4. VGK flipped it in the 2nd, outshooting Carolina 11-5. At one point late in the opening frame, Carolina had a +15 margin in shot attempts. By midway through the 3rd, VGK had not only closed the gap, but went ahead by five shot attempts.
It was a team effort to settle in and start to take control of the game as it wore on.
It’s a five-man effort for sure. It’s not just on the defensemen. You have to outnumber the puck. I think Carolina does such a good job at entering the zone and puck recoveries that you need five guys around the puck, and at times, you need to stop and understand that advancing the puck without a tape-to-tape play is a win in a lot of circumstances. -Nic Dowd
Their ability to turn the game around is no surprise to anyone who has been watching Vegas play all season, and especially in the postseason. It may have come as a surprise to Carolina, though, as Vegas became the first true road team to win Stanley Cup Final Game 1 since 2015, and the first ever to overcome a two-goal deficit, breaking an 0-55 streak.
The Hurricanes will likely bring some adjustments to Game 2, but the Golden Knights will be brimming with confidence when they step on the ice again tonight at Lenovo Center. They took Carolina’s first haymaker right on the chin, and it hurt, but they got back up, shook it off, and fought all the way back to win the first battle of the war.
Now, they know what they’re up against, and they know they have all the tools to beat it.
Desperation is a word that’s used frequently this time of year in the NHL. There’s a fine line between it and panic, and the Golden Knights walked it perfectly in Game 3.
VGK knew they had to come with a different approach in order to slow down the Anaheim attack that had bothered them through the first two games. While most believed the Golden Knights needed to find a way to increase physicality to limit the Ducks offense, VGK took a slightly different approach.
I thought we played better as a team tonight. Shot blocking. I thought we had good sticks. I thought we were better (taking away) time and space. -John Tortorella
Rather than trying to keep up with the Ducks’ skating, or even attempting to lay hits all over the ice (Vegas ended up with just 23 compared to ANA’s 53), the Golden Knights brought a more deliberate approach to closing down shooting and passing lanes.
We want to get in front of them. You want to be physical when you can. They’re a team that’s really good in the neutral zone and can make a lot of plays. If you have good sticks and eliminate uh plays, it goes a long way and we did a good job of that early. -Brayden McNabb
VGK laid sticks and bodies in the way of Anaheim shots and passes consistently early in the game, and it frustrated the Ducks. In the first 16 minutes, Vegas blocked seven shots. By the end of the game, that number had ballooned to 20, the most they’ve had in a 60-minute game in the playoffs this year.
The Golden Knights have spent a lot of time, money, and assets rebuilding their defense after a career-ending injury to Alex Pietrangelo.
Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb have been asked to step into the first pair role. VGK spent major assets to bring in Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson. They swapped Nic Hague out for Jeremy Lauzon and have tasked Kaedan Korczak to fill Zach Whitecloud’s shoes.
It hasn’t gone as swimmingly as the Golden Knights would have hoped, but it certainly has not been bad. VGK currently rank 3rd in shots allowed per game, yet sit in 19th in goals against. Some of the blame, maybe most, lies at the feet of the goaltending, however, the new-look defense have had some issues themselves.
A specific issue they’ve struggled with recently cropped up once again last night against the Wild as they allowed three goals in a little more than three minutes.
The first one’s a tough one. There’s miscommunication, they get a breakaway, and they score. Not the end of the world, we’re playing fine. But the next two we had pucks below the goal line to break out. We didn’t execute. That was a big problem all night. Big problem. -Bruce Cassidy
Yesterday in New Jersey, the Golden Knights blocked a total of 23 shots on goal. It was only the 7th time this season that Vegas got in the way of 20 or more shots in a game. Dating back to last season, the Golden Knights are well below coach Bruce Cassidy’s seasonal averages since his arrival in 2022-23.
For some reason, the past two seasons, the Golden Knights have been underperforming in the shot block department. It’s probably not a philosophy change as Cassidy-led teams are usually among the league leaders in blocked shots. Since he became Vegas’ leader, his teams have blocked the 3rd most shots in the NHL, behind Philadelphia and Montreal. Vegas is just one of three Western Conference teams to be in the Top 10 since 2022-23.
To no surprise, Brayden McNabb nearly leads the league (20-game minimum) in blocked shots with 7.87 per 60. If there’s one player you can rely on to lay out in front of a puck, it’s the nine-year Vegas veteran. After McNabb, Keegan Kolesar is next on the Golden Knights with 5.87, then Shea Theodore at 3.92. However, several Golden Knights aren’t doing their part.
Why is Colton Sissons blocking under three shots per 60? Why do Ivan Barbashev and Tomas Hertl block fewer shots than Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner? If we’re stumped, you have to assume Cassidy is as well. The sad reality is, without McNabb, Vegas would be dead last in block shots. Not a position we would ever think the Golden Knights would be in.
(Credit: NHL.com)
Since their first-ever game in 2017 against the Dallas Stars, VGK is 3rd in blocked shots. If you subtract this season and the previous season, Vegas has the 2nd most blocked shots since 2017-18. This season, they’re on pace for 11th place in the league. Not good enough for a historically balanced lineup.
In their Cup run 2022-23 season, Vegas was first in total blocked shots. The second team with the most blocks were more than a full shot fewer per game. VGK blocked 1,494 shots; Philadelphia blocked 83 fewer shot attempts. That’s a wide margin between the top two clubs in that statistic.
(Credit: NHL.com *2017-2025)
Of course, the total amount of blocked shots has dipped since Alec Martinez left the club. However, most of the roster witnessed his courage and desire to block any incoming shot. Outside of McNabb, the rest of the lineup needs to spend more time watching Martinez highlights to get more motivated to sacrifice themselves on the ice when needed.
A final editorial, blocking shots is vital to winning a Stanley Cup. However, it’s dangerous and shouldn’t be a habit for every player in the regular season. In my opinion, Eichel and Marner should shy away from sacrificing their bodies during the regular season. But, once the playoffs arrive, they’d better block shots.
This season the Golden Knights are 5-0-2 and are matching expectations through seven games. Sure, there have been some defensive lapses over the first five contests, but in the last two Vegas has allowed only two goals. Impressively enough, one of those opponents was the league’s last remaining undefeated team. VGK’s team defense held Carolina, who was averaging almost five goals a game to one score on Monday night.
One of the reasons the Golden Knights’ defense has settled in and is beginning to look like years past is their dedication to stopping the puck. While it shouldn’t surprise any Vegas fan, 14-year career defenseman Brayden McNabb is two off the lead in blocked shots. Additionally, another Golden Knights defenseman also cracked the Top 15 in blocked shots this season.
NHL’s Top Shot Blockers
Darnell Nurse (EDM) – 26 Blocked Shots
Brayden McNabb (VGK) – 24 Blocked Shots
Andrew Peeke (BOS) – 22 Blocked Shots
Brett Pesce (CAR) – 21 Blocked Shots
Alex Carrier (MTL) – 20 Blocked Shots
Connor Timmins (BUF) – 20 Blocked Shots
Thomas Harley (DAL) – 20 Blocked Shots
Tyler Meyers (VAN) – 19 Blocked Shots
Adam Larsson (SEA) – 19 Blocked Shots
Jared Spurgeon (MIN) – 18 Blocked Shots
Mike Matheson (MTL) – 18 Blocked Shots
Auston Matthews (TOR) – 18 Blocked Shots
Simon Edvinsson (DET) – 18 Blocked Shots
Shea Theodore (VGK) – 17 Blocked Shots
Surprisingly, Shea Theodore is listed with 17 blocked shots through seven games. At this pace, VGK’s top blueliner is in line for almost 200 blocked shots. It’s unlikely he reaches that mark once the defensive unit is fully healthy. However, he’s way above his average per 60 minutes. Coming into the 2025-26 campaign, Theodore threw his body in front of a puck 3.33 times per 60. Currently, he’s doubled his attempts in each matchup. As for McNabb, he’s astonishingly blocking almost 10 shot attempts per 60.
Overall, the Golden Knights have blocked the 7th most shot attempts since the start of the season.
