Tag: Schedule Page 1 of 3

(Photo Credit: @GoldenKnights on X/Twitter)

On Monday, we shared the easiest stretches in the 26-27 schedule for the Golden Knights. Now, we turn our attention to the more difficult ones.

Last season, Vegas went 2-6-0, 3-4-2, and 4-2-2 through the three strings of games we highlighted, including one that fell in the middle of VGK’s terrible 5-11-2 run from mid January to the trade deadline in March. This season, there aren’t nearly as many extended road trips or back-to-backs, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some extremely tough stretches of hockey they’ll have to conquer.

January 2nd to January 30th
vs COL, at COL, vs MIN, vs SEA, at WSH, at TBL, at FLA, at CAR, vs EDM, vs BOS, at CHI, at NSH, vs BOS, vs WSH

Yeah, the entire month of January has been highlighted because it is an absolute gauntlet. Aside from the home game against Seattle and the road game in Chicago, VGK will likely be either minimal favorites or even underdogs in each of the other 12 games. Historically, the trip to the American Southeast is a difficult one, and then Edmonton is waiting back in Vegas when the Golden Knights return home. The one respite is that the only back-to-back are the games in Florida and Carolina but there’s not a ton of time off between the rest of the games and a lot of travel. VGK need to position themselves well in 2026 so the first month of 2027 doesn’t bite them.

February 20th to March 7th
At DAL, at COL, vs FLA, vs ANA, at PHI, at NYI, at NJD, at NYR

The stretch starts with the Stadium Series game at AT&T Stadium in Dallas and then gets more and more difficult as it goes along. There’s likely to be at least a little bit of a letdown following the marquee game of the season, and Colorado, Florida, and Anaheim are not the best options to stave that off. Then, it’s the yearly trip to New York, which is as late in the season as it has ever been for VGK. They usually do fine through that trip, but it’s rarely a rousing success. The good news is that the stretches coming into this one and coming out are fairly soft.

November 17th to December 1st
vs DAL, vs DAL, at WPG, at EDM, at SJS, vs MTL, at LAK

For some reason, the schedule makers handed the Golden Knights and Stars consecutive games at T-Mobile Arena that are not on back-to-back days. Dallas is always a difficult opponent, and having to beat them twice in a row is even tougher. Then, it’s a trip to Winnipeg followed by a flight over to Edmonton before returning to the US for a road/home back-to-back against the Sharks and Canadiens. There are just two games (at WPG, at SJS) in this seven-game stretch against non-playoff teams and both are expected to be much better in 26-27. It doesn’t lighten up too much afterwards either as a pair of matchups with Utah and Winnipeg at home are on the calendar before a trip to Eastern Canada.

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

Every NHL schedule has soft spots, and playoff-contending teams must take full advantage of them. Last year, we identified VGK’s three easiest stretches and they went 6-1-0, 4-2-2, and 2-6-0 through them. The 2-6-0 run right after the deadline nearly cost the team its season and ultimately cost Bruce Cassidy his job. It’s one thing to lose games; it’s another to lose ones you are supposed to win.

Here’s a look at the three easiest groups of games for VGK this season.

March 9th to March 31st
Vs SJS, vs PHI, vs NYR, vs WPG, vs SEA, at ANA, at SEA, at VAN, at CGY, vs VAN

It’s an extremely long stretch of games following the Trade Deadline, but it involves almost all non-playoff Pacific Division teams. The trip to Anaheim in the middle of it is the only real challenge, and it comes with two days off following a five-game homestand. This stretch is the perfect opportunity for the Golden Knights to rattle off at least seven wins and take control of either their playoff destiny, the division, or maybe even the Presidents’ Trophy. Honestly, the entire month of March is almost comically easy, which is a great time for Vegas to get red hot.

September 29th to October 10th
Vs CHI, vs ANA, at VAN, at SEA, vs TOR, vs LAK

The Golden Knights couldn’t have asked for a much better start to the Ryan Craig era than this stretch of six games. The opener is a date with one of the worst teams in the league, who will be missing their best player (Connor Bedard). Then Anaheim comes to Vegas to open their season, while the Golden Knights will already have a game win under their belts. Then it’s a trip to the Pacific Northwest to a pair of buildings in which VGK have a combined 16-1-5 record. Toronto and Los Angeles await when the Golden Knights return home, which aren’t the easiest games, but a healthy Vegas team should be able to handle them.

February 1st to February 18th
At CGY, at EDM, vs CGY, vs DET, vs CBJ

The lead-up to the Stadium Series game in Dallas is about as soft as can possibly be for the Golden Knights. First off, the bye week sits right in the middle of this stretch, so there will be a nice chance to recover and gear up for the second “half” of the season. The trip to Alberta isn’t always the easiest for Vegas but usually they find a way to pull at least one win out of it. Then, Calgary, Detroit, and Columbus come to T-Mobile Arena with all three likely looking forward to selling at the deadline. If the Golden Knights are running hot heading into this stretch, they have a real chance to sweep before they take the mega stage at JerryWorld.

*We’ll take a look at the toughest stretches next.*

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

As the Golden Knights enter their 10th season in the NHL, the league has entered a new era as well. For the first time since 1994, teams will play 84 games in the regular season. That means Vegas will play meaningful games in the month of September for the first time ever with the home opener scheduled for 9/29 vs Chicago.

This year’s Golden Knights will face the most grueling travel schedule, by distance, they’ve ever faced. This is the first time VGK will eclipse 50,000 miles with their total, as reported by Sports 1440’s Jason Gregor, at 50,668. Last year the Golden Knights came in just short of 47,000 and the previous year was about 1,000 fewer than that.

It’s not all bad news, though, on the schedule front. One of the reasons the Golden Knights will put in so many miles is because they do not face a single road trip longer than four games. It’s the first time over the course of a full season that VGK will not face a five-or-more-game span away from T-Mobile Arena. In fact, in four of the first nine seasons have seen the Golden Knights hit the road for at least six games and the results were not pretty including a 1-4-1 trip in 2017.

Another added bonus is that the Golden Knights face the fewest back-to-backs of any team in the league. Tied with Calgary, Vegas will only play on consecutive nights eight times all season. The league leader this season is Pittsburgh with 15, while more than half of the NHL will face at least 12.

From @JasonGregor on X/Twitter

In addition, VGK catch 10 teams that are playing their second of a back-to-back. This is double the number that Toronto and Winnipeg face but well short of division rival Anaheim, who get a whopping 18 (21% of their schedule).

From @JasonGregor on X/Twitter

Another weird quirk, involving Anaheim, is that the Golden Knights open their season on the 29th of September with the next game on October 2nd vs Anaheim. That is Anaheim’s first game of the season. So, Vegas’ season is actually three days longer than the Ducks’ as both teams conclude on April 10th.
Without an Olympic or 4 Nations break the schedule is much more spread out than it has been over the last two seasons. Even though the schedule is a bit different than it’s ever been before, it should feel pretty similar for VGK fans.

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

Season 10 will get underway for the Golden Knights on September 29th against the Chicago Blackhawks. For the first time, VGK will play 84 games with the final game against the Kings on April 10th.

The NHL released the Golden Knights’ full schedule for the 2026-27 season tday and as we do every year, we’re here to break it down. (Scroll to the bottom to see full schedule)

• Longest Homestand
  • 2026-27: 5 games (twice)
    • 11/11-11/19
    • 3/9-3/17
  • 2025-26: 6 games
    • 10/31-11/13 (1-3-2)
  • 2024-25: 5 games
    • 2/27-3/9 (4-1-0)
  • 2023-24:  5 games
    • 1/11-1/20 (4-1-0)
  • 2022-23: 7 games
    • 1/5-1/21 (3-4-0)
  • 2021-22: 6 games (twice)
    • 11/9-11/20 (5-1-0)
    • 12/31-1/11 (3-3-2) *This was originally scheduled as a 6-game homestand but a rescheduled away game turned it into 8*
  • 2021: 5 games
    • 1/26-2/11 (3-1-1)
  • 2019-20: 7 games
    • 12/28-1/11 (4-3-0)
  • 2018-19: 5 games
    • 10/16-10/28 (3-1-1)
  • 2017-18: 7 games (twice)
    • 10/10-10/27 (6-1-0)
    • 2/11-2/23 (5-2-0)

• Longest Road Trip
  • 2026-27: 4 games (five times)
  • 2025-26: 5 games (twice)
    • 12/5-12/13 (4-0-1)
    • 2/25-3/4 (2-3-0)
  • 2024-25: 5 games
    • 11/20-11/27 (3-1-1)
  • 2023-24: 5 games
    • 11/14-11/22 (2-2-1)
  • 2022-23:  6 games
    • 1/22-2/9 (2-2-2)
  • 2021-22: 5 games
    • 3/8-3/15 (0-5-0)
  • 2021: 6 games
    • 3/5-3/13 (4-2-0)
  • 2019-20: 8 games
    • 1/14-2/6 (4-3-1)
  • 2018-19: 5 games
    • 10/6-10/13 (2-3-0)
  • 2017-18: 6 games (twice)
    • 10/30-11/7 (1-4-1)
    • 1/30-2/8 (4-2-0)

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(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

This year, it’s hard to escape the phrase “condensed schedule.” Due to the Olympic break forcing the league to take almost three weeks off in the middle of the season, the NHL had to jam 82 games into a shorter span than ever before. From players to coaches to media, it’s a topic that seems to find its way into any and all analysis about team and player performance this year.

What if I were to tell you, though, the most condensed part of the schedule hasn’t even happened yet?

This first portion of the season is one of the more jammed portions of schedule in Vegas history, but it’s not the leader, and it pales in comparison to what’s to come.

Thus far, the Golden Knights have played 57 games in 121 days, for a rate of 2.12 days per game. The final 25 games will be played over a span of just 50 days or 2.00 days per game.

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(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

We’ve looked at the easiest stretches of the schedule for the Golden Knights in 2025-26. Now, let’s dig into the toughest ones.

October 20th to November 10th
vs CAR, at FLA, at TBL, at CAR, vs COL, vs DET, vs TBL, vs ANA, vs FLA

The first six games of the season are going to be crucial for the Golden Knights because this stretch lies right behind them. There are just three road games in this 9-game group, but seven of the nine are against playoff teams. Playing three games in four nights in Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, and Raleigh is incredibly difficult, and then the extra day off gets cut short with the Nevada Day game against the Avs. Detroit and Anaheim stand alone as the “gimmes,” and there’s an argument that both have a shot to make the playoffs this season as well. Getting a point per game is not exactly the goal early in a season, but if VGK walk away from this with nine points, it won’t be bad.

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(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

There’s a lot to look at and process when the schedule is released each season for the Golden Knights. One of the first places my eyes go is to which parts of the year are the best spots for Vegas to take big strides with long winning streaks. Last year, I identified the three easiest stretches of the season, and the Golden Knights went 9-3-0, 5-2-0, and 6-1-0. Let’s see if we can find the easiest parts of the schedule once again.

November 18th to December 2nd
vs NYR, at UTA, at ANA, at UTA, vs OTT, vs MTL, vs SJS, vs CHI

This is an eight-game stretch opening with an Eastern Conference opponent, followed by three road games, but there’s barely a playoff team to be found in the entire two-week span. It’s possible Utah has improved enough to make the two road games a bit trickier, but overall this should be at least six wins with the only back-to-back being a home and home with Montreal and San Jose. Also, if VGK can get hot during this stretch, it leads into a long road trip against bad East Coast teams as well. Even if the season doesn’t start off like it usually does for Bruce Cassidy teams, late November should allow the Golden Knights to vault up the standings.

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