Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud (2) passes the puck during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues at T-Mobile Arena Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Given the schedule and playing more games than anyone else in the league, the Golden Knights need a breather at some point.
Things don’t get easier in the coming days. Following a stretch of playing eight of nine games on the road, only to come back for just two home games, the Golden Knights are about to hit the road again for a two-game Central Division trip starting in St. Louis on Wednesday (6 p.m., Vegas 34).
But it won’t be a run-of-the-mill road trip. The players' dads are tagging along.
The Golden Knights’ annual fathers trip, where all dads and father figures travel with the team for a road trip littered with hockey and other activities, will run through Saturday when Vegas travels to St. Louis and Dallas.
“I think they have a lot more fun than most dads do,” said defenseman Zach Whitecloud. “Any profession you’re in when you travel and you’ve got to be away from your home and your bed, the days can get long. But at the end of the day, we’re all fortunate to be able to do what we do.”
There’s never a set date with the dads trip. Sometimes it takes place like this one, in early December, while others are later. The Golden Knights had their dads trip immediately after the all-star break last season, in Minnesota and Nashville.
The timing of this trip may have come at the right time.
The Golden Knights are tied with the New York Rangers at 37 points, the most in the NHL. New York has played one fewer game, so the Rangers have the edge in points percentage.
But because the Golden Knights have played so many games, the gap in the standings has closed since their 11-0-1 start to the season. The Los Angeles Kings (14-4-3, 31 points) have five games in hand on the Golden Knights, thus holding a division tiebreaker over Vegas at the moment.
“Last year it came at a really good time. We were in a funk,” coach Bruce Cassidy said, referencing Vegas’ 1-6-1 stretch before last year's trip. “It was two pronged: the way our team was going and having your fathers around is always a good thing. It’s a positive for us, and hopefully they get to see some good hockey again. They did last year, and I thought they were a big part of it.”
The players and dads planned a tour of the Anheuser-Busch brewery in St. Louis, followed by an event to be determined in Dallas.
On the ice, the Golden Knights (16-5-5) will carry a five-game point streak against the Blues in the second leg of a home-and-home series. St. Louis won 2-1 in overtime at T-Mobile Arena on Monday behind a stellar 33-save effort from Jordan Binnington. Vegas is expected to see Binnington again at the Enterprise Center, with Logan Thompson making his third straight start.
Thompson is expected to start both games on the trip, while goalie partner Adin Hill, who has a lower-body injury, will not travel with the team. Defenseman Alec Martinez (lower body) is also not expected to make the trip.
Whitecloud said one advantage is almost all the dads know each other because of the Golden Knights bringing almost the same team back from last year’s Stanley Cup-winning team. The continuity, he said, will make it all the more fun.
“Speaking for my dad, he’s pretty much in awe the whole time, because it’s something he doesn’t get to see all the time,” Whitecloud said. “I think it’s a good experience for them to sit around at dinners and ... just have some fun.”
Golden Knights at Blues
Time: 6 p.m.
TV: Vegas 34
Radio: Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM
Streaming: Knighttime+
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
