Vegas Staying the Course Early On

Las Vegas, NV - If you glanced at the standings, you might think the Vegas Golden Knights have been a mediocre team so far.  And some of the middling results through 20 games this season does point to that.  But there is some hope that Vegas has just been unlucky and may be due for a turnaround sooner rather than later.

The Knights currently site 11th in the PFHL in Goals For/ Goals Against %.  That's above teams like the LA Kings, who currently hold a playoff spot and much better record than the Knights.

The Knights special teams has also been pretty good, sitting 10th in the PFHL in PP+PK %.

Despite their record putting them 13th in the Western Conference, their all-important Goal Differential puts them 5th.  Put up against the entire PFHL, they sit 11th.

So why exactly do they sit at 13th in the Western Conference so far?  The GM thinks right now it could be a chemistry issue and putting the right players with the right teammates will be key to getting the Knights back on track.  Recently, after a 4-game losing streak, Giroux was paired with Matthews on the top line and the team instantly went on a 4-game winning streak before losing to Chicago, one of the top teams in the West.  That game ended in a 3-2 loss, but it was encouraging to play a team like the Blackhawks so closely.  GM Tom Jervis has been loath to considering making a trade so far this season, believing in the team he drafted.  He has taken a 'wait and see' approach so far and while, the results haven't been great, there is still plenty of time to get back on track.

Could this new top line pairing bring the Knights back to contender status?  The underlying numbers say they could already be there, here's to hoping the results follow.