LAS VEGAS — Stop me if you’ve heard this before.
The captain is injured. So is the winger who was expected to play on the first line. There are defensemen hurt. The goaltending is spotty.
Oh, and the team is in first place.
Welcome to the Vegas Golden Knights season to date.
It’s mid-November and the Knights sit atop the Pacific Division with 24 points (11-5-2). They’re doing it without captain Mark Stone, who was the NHL’s leading scorer when he suffered a lower-body injury on Nov. 6 against Edmonton and hasn’t played since.
By now, we’ve come to expect that Stone would miss some time. It happens every year and at age 32, he’s more susceptible to getting hurt. He reportedly is skating so we may see him back sooner rather than later.
The Knights miss their captain. They certainly could’ve used him Sunday when they lost to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, 5-2 as the Great 8 registered a hat trick and pulled within 29 goals of passing Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time goal scoring leader.
And speaking of the Capitals, remember Victor Olofsson? He was supposed to ride shotgun on Jack Eichel’s line like he did when they played together in Buffalo. Except he’s been hurt and hasn’t played since Oct. 15 when Vegas lost to Washington in D.C.
Like Stone, Olofsson is reportedly skating on his own. And it would be nice if one of them returns on the upcoming five-game road trip that begins Wednesday in Toronto. And for good measure, a return of defenseman Nic Hague would be a welcome sight. Hague last played Nov. 2 and has missed six in a ow and nine of the last 10. This dressing 11 forwards and seven defensemen isn’t cutting it. Coach Bruce Cassidy acknowledged as much and look for the normal 12 forward/six D setup to return.
It was weird when Cassidy said the reason he did it in Utah Friday was because Kaeden Korczak’s father was on the team’s Dad’s Trip and he wanted to find a way to work him into the lineup. Sunday, he used Ben Hutton in the same role and Hutton got hurt late in the first period and didn’t return. The dads had already gone home so I’m not sure what the thinking was for using Hutton that way unless there’s some salary cap issues (The Knights are under the cap).
So much for that strategy.
Yet despite all of this, Vegas sits atop the Pacific. But for how long?
Thanksgiving is just around the corner and it is a benchmark time in the NHL. If you’re looking at postseason berths, you want to be in the top eight in your conference and it never hurts to be in first place in your division.
So the upcoming trip, which starts in Toronto, goes to Ottawa, then Montreal, over to Philadelphia and concludes in Colorado over an eight-day stretch will tell us a lot about this team. If they can garner six or seven points on the trip, I’d say that would constitute a successful run and likely keep them atop the standings..
A lot will depend on the goaltending. Adin Hill was tremendous in the 4-2 win over Utah last Friday. He’ll likely be in net for the bulk of the trip and if he can carry that play over from Salt Lake City, the Knights will certainly benefit.
Ilya Samsonov looked pedestrian in Sunday’s loss to the Caps, clearly being outplayed by former VGKer Logan Thompson. But in fairness to Samsonov, this was his first action since Oct. 30. He hopefully is sharper the next time Cassidy calls his number.
So how is this team still winning?
Jack Eichel has played like the player everyone thought he would be when he was drafted in 2015 as the No. 2 overall selection. He has been tremendous. The power play has perked up and at 34 percent, is currently second in the NHL to Winnipeg (36 percent).
Keegan Kolesar and Brett Howden are having career seasons so far and have gone from fourth-line skaters to the second line.
Howden, who has seven goals already this year and has a career-best nine tallies, said he’s just trying to take advantage of his opportunities and the puck seems to be going in for him.
Kolesar came to training camp ready to not just keep his job but get more minutes, has earned his upgrade. He’s played good two-way hockey and has five goals through 18 games this season. His career high is eight goals, set in each of the last two seasons.
Noah Hanifin is playing better. So is Tomas Hertl. Pavel Dorofeyev has benefitted from playing with Eichel and has a team-high nine goals.
When you get contributions throughout your lineup, your chances for success increase. And after a tough start on the road where they were 0-3-1, the Knights are 3-0-1 in their last four away contests. The last two wins came on the Dad’s Trip and I’m sure the players wish that could be extended for the upcoming roadie.
But they’ll have to find another way to get motivated. Maybe saying atop the standings will be motivation enough.