Last season it took the Golden Knights 268 goals to win the Pacific Division title. Vegas finished fifth in the NHL behind Tampa (290), Winnipeg (273), Pittsburgh (270) and Toronto (270). The league average for goals scored was (244), 24 short of the Golden Knights’ output. San Jose (247) was the only other Pacific Division team to score more than the league average.
Clearly, the Golden Knights produced enough offense last season to win their division going away. Vegas was only five tallies behind Winnipeg, the Western Conference leader, and we all know how that ended up. Vegas, Tampa, and Winnipeg were in the top five in regular season scoring and all appeared in the conference finals.
Here’s how the rest of the Pacific Division teams fared in 2017-18.
Anaheim
231 Goals (19th)
2.82 Goals For Per Game
220 Goals Scored in 2016-17
2017-18 (+11 Goals)
Arizona
206 Goals (30th)
2.51 Goals For Per Game
191 Goals Scored in 2016-17
2017-18 (+15 Goals)
Calgary
216 Goals (27th)
2.63 Goals For Per Game
222 Goals Scored in 2016–17
2017-18 (-6 Goals)
Edmonton
229 Goals (20th)
2.79 Goals For Per Game
243 Goals Scored in 2016-17
2017-18 (-14 Goals)
Los Angeles
237 Goals (16th)
2.89 Goals For Per Game
199 Goals Scored in 2016-17
2017-18(+38 Goals)
San Jose
247 Goals (13th)
3.01 Goals For Per Game
219 Goals Scored in 2016-17
2017-18 (+28 Goals)
Vancouver
218 Goals (26th)
2.66 Goals For Per Game
178 Goals Scored in 2016-17
2017-18 (+40 Goals)
Vegas
268 Goals (5th)
3.27 Goals For Per Game (5th)
Overall, Pacific teams scored the second least amount with 1,852 scored goals, but that’s only because the Central is one team short. The divisional average per team was the lowest in the league by a bit of a margin.
Pacific Division Combined Goals
1,852 Combined Pacific Team Goals
231.5 Goal Average Per Team
Central Division Combined Goals
1,721 Combined Central Team Goals
245 Total Goal Average Per Team
Metropolitan Division Combined Goals
1,968 Combined Metro Team Goals
246 Total Goal Average Per Team
Atlantic Division Combined Goals
1,908 Combined Atlantic Team Goals
238.5 Total Goal Average Per Team
Can Vegas repeat their high scoring tempo from 2017-18? Beats me. Offensively, the Golden Knights look different, and 268 scored goals is a high number to replicate. However, if Vegas can saddle around league average they should return to the postseason. Only two teams to score more than 244 goals were eliminated from playoff contention.
To follow up their inaugural season’s success, the Golden Knights will have to score to win. Duh. But to score, Vegas will have to ‘take it one shift at a time’, ‘get the puck to the net’, ‘play for sixty minutes’, and ‘keep it simple’.
I miss coachspeak.
Dave H
I dont know what shocks me more: that LA finished 3rd in the division and at basically league average or that VAN was +40(!) on the year but still finished 26th overall. LOL
The question now is can Vegas maintain it? I honestly don’t see them being 5th this year. Top 10-15 maybe, but losing Neal and Perron takes a lot of points out of the lineup. Statsny will help, but who else is going to step up?