Golden Knights players confer during a game against the Nashville Predators at T-Mobile Arena Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. From left: William Karlsson (71), Shea Theodore (27), Jonathan Marchessault (81) and Colin Miller (6).
Friday, Feb. 1, 2019 | 2 a.m.
The Golden Knights return tonight from an eight-day break to start a four-game road trip by taking on the Carolina Hurricanes. Vegas has 52 games under its belt, with the All-Star game and bye week serving as the unofficial start of the stretch run to the season.
As the Golden Knights play their last 30 games and jostle for playoff position, here are five things to watch:
Wheeling and dealing?
The NHL’s trade deadline is less than a month away on Feb. 25, and the Golden Knights have some cap space to play with. According to CapFriendly.com, Vegas is projected to have $3.63 million of cap space at season’s end, which begs the question: Is general manager George McPhee looking to add to the roster?
McPhee was active at last year’s trade deadline, acquiring Ryan Reaves and Tomas Tatar to bolster the team’s playoff run. If the Golden Knights were to add this season, they could look to strengthen to the blue line or find a scoring winger on an expiring deal for their third line.
The smart money would be on not expecting a big move, in part because Vegas has a strong team and values its prospect depth, and because stars rarely get traded at the deadline in today’s NHL. The returns of Reilly Smith and William Carrier from injured reserve could fit the bill like a big acquisition.
Defensive depth
The Brad Hunt trade to Minnesota made sense for Vegas with the return of Colin Miller and the strong play of Jon Merrill in a reserve role. But it leaves the Golden Knights with little wiggle room if injury strikes the blue line, particularly if it were to hit the top four.
The Golden Knights recalled Jake Bischoff on Wednesday, a move that has plenty of implications. It could mean Nick Holde, who missed the last game before the break, isn’t ready to return. It could also mean Smith or Carrier are not close to returning. Or it could mean McPhee decided he would rather have eight defensemen on the 23-man roster. Bischoff has yet to make his NHL debut.
The Golden Knights have been a different team since Nate Schmidt’s suspension ended, and he and Brayden McNabb have paired to lock down some of the NHL’s best lines. Shea Theodore has scored twice in the last five games, and with 22 points, he seems poised to top the 29 points he registered last year. But if one of them or Deryk Engelland get hurt, Vegas could find itself in a crunch.
Bill getting Wild
William Karlsson has been good this year with 16 goals and 32 points in 52 games, but that’s a slight decrease from his production in last year’s breakthrough season. Through 52 games last year, Karlsson had 27 goals and 45 points on the way to 43 goals for the season, third-best in the league, and 78 points.
Karlsson’s contract expires at the end of the year, and he has one year of restricted free agency remaining before being eligible for unrestricted free agency following the 2019-20 season. It would be a major upset if Karlsson is not back with the team next year, but a hot second half could boost both his and the team’s incentive to get a long-term contract hammered out.
Flower Power
As goalie Marc-Andre Fleury goes, so go the Golden Knights.
The 34-year-old all-star is the biggest reason Vegas is where it is in the standings, and arguably its most important player in the second half of the season.
He has started 45 of the team’s 52 games, which is more than any goalie in the league and puts him on pace for 71 starts, six more than his previous career-high and 26 more than last year.
But it’s hard for coach Gerard Gallant to rest Fleury him when he leads the league in shutouts and the team is jockeying for postseason position.
In the seven seasons in which he has started 60 or more games, his postseason stats include a 2.79 goals-against average and .899 save percentage, though it did include the 2009 Stanley Cup victory.
Defending the Fortress
The Golden Knights are 16-6-3 at home, which is one of the best home records in the league. Their road record is a pedestrian 13-13-1, meaning their play at T-Mobile Arena is keeping them comfortably in a playoff spot.
But their home castle has shown some rare signs of vulnerability. They dropped their last two games at home before the All-Star break and have lost three of their last four overall at T-Mobile.
When the Golden Knights return from their four-game road trip, they will play eight of nine games at home, giving them a tremendous opportunity to bank points in the Pacific Division race.
The bad news is that those games include contests with Columbus, Toronto, Nashville, Boston and Winnipeg, all playoff-bound teams Vegas has yet to beat this year.
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