The Vegas Golden Knights are far from perfect to start the season, but they are perfect as they are.
The Vegas Golden Knights are far from perfect to start the season, but they are perfect as they are.
Riding a five-game point streak to start the 2025-26 season, the Golden Knights (3-0-2) look to extend it to six games when they face the Calgary Flames (1-4-0) at T-Mobile Arena.
The Golden Knights bested the Flames 4-2 on Oct. 14, but the game was marred by starting goaltender Adin Hill’s lower body injury. Hill will likely be looking for revenge as he gets the start tonight, as confirmed by head coach Bruce Cassidy.
If the Golden Knights want to accomplish their goal of defeating a Pacific Division rival, these are some points of emphasis to focus on.
Get Marner going
The prized acquisition of Mitch Marner has certainly been worth the price of admission so far, notching six points and a team-leading +6 rating in five games.
What makes it even more impressive is that Marner has been able to accomplish so much already without scoring a goal for the Golden Knights yet. The team has shifted him around so far along the top six and on power play units, trusting him to make the plays necessary to make an impact.
“Chemistry. Where does he fit, first and foremost,” Cassidy said about what they are doing with Marner during his media availability after morning skate.
“There's some simple things like acclimating into a room that's been there and done it a certain way for a while. So you don't think of these little things, but there's small little things, you know, who likes to go on the ice last, all these little things that might be superstitious for players and whatnot that he has to get used to.”
It is clear that Cassidy and the Golden Knights know how dangerous the team will be once Marner finds his grove, and they are certainly committed to that goal.
Control the puck
When asked what the Golden Knights can do better in the early part of the season, Cassidy did not beat around the bush about the first aspect.
“Starts with puck management,” Cassidy said.
According to MoneyPuck, the Golden Knights have 81 giveaways on the season, the fourth-highest mark in the league. While it is expected that the early part of the season does not often produce the cleanest hockey, it is an aspect that must be worked on to get a 60-minute effort.
“The message was, listen, we got lots of guys in the room who can make plays. We want you to make plays,” Cassidy continued.
“You don't have to make a play the first shift, second shift of the game. That's not there, like you can sort of play the game in front of you and manage the puck better. I thought with Boston, we did a better job. Calgary, we did not. So are we there? Of course not, but that's an area where we're getting focused on.”
With the Flames being the first opponent the Golden Knights face for the second time this season, it will be intriguing to see if they can learn from any mistakes and capitalize on their possessions.
Start on time
Something that has plagued the Golden Knights early on has been starting slow in games.
In five games, the Golden Knights have allowed their opponents to score the first goal in all of them. They have also been outscored 7-3 in the first period in that span. The Golden Knights have been able to close gaps quickly, but that does not mean they want the trend to continue.
“We’ve been a team that probably made the first or second mistake a lot of things, so we got to minimize those by making better decisions,” Cassidy said.
“Now maybe we make a good play tonight, score first because of that, but at the end of the day, that's probably our biggest area, emphasizing other than go through structure, face offs, all that, but in the big picture, that's when we need to get better.”
With the emphasis on starting strong, Cassidy will be looking for a strong first period to set the tone for the rest of the game.
Category: General Sports
