Is It Time to Panic in Vegas??
(Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
After an offseason that was scarred by a surprising, yet unsurprising trade that sent Vezina Winning Goaltender to the Blackhawks for NOTHING, the Vegas Golden Knights are in some deep trouble to start the 2021 season. To open up the new year, the Golden Knights are 1-4 and are dead last in the pacific division. Vegas’ goals against difference is a -9 and though the season is early, it might be time to panic in Nevada…but Why??
Injuries
Alec Martinez - Out with Undisclosed Injury
Max Pacioretty - Out with Undisclosed Injury
Mark Stone - Out with Undisclosed Injury
Brett Howden - Out with Undisclosed Injury
Nicolas Roy - Out with Undisclosed Injury
William Carrier - Upper Body
Mattias Janmark - Health Protocols
Underperformance
Through 5 games, the Knights leading scorer is Chandler Stephenson (2 G/2 A/4 P) with Max Pacioretty behind as the 2nd best on the team with 2 G/1A/3P. Injuries aside, an injured player being the 2nd best scorer on the team despite only playing 2 games is enough to be concerned about.
Along with the lack of scoring, the Knights have seen a decline in some overall production with William Karlsson, Reilly Smith & Jonathan Marchessault seeing a drop in performance and instead providing a negative +/-.
Is Vegas’ lack of offense surprising?? Well it shouldn’t be given that since their inception, the Knight have continued to rely on their #1 & #2 lines to provide the brunt of their offense. Unsurprisingly, Vegas’ top stars being OUT has attributed to players like Marchessault & Smith being the most affected from key injuries to Pacioretty & Stone.
The Knights brought in Brett Howden & Nolan Patrick via trade to help bring in some youth to their lines, along with giving one of their only top prospects in Peyton Krebs a shot to make his mark, but these experiments have flatlined early. Howden has only played 3 games, providing 0 points & as mentioned is currently out. Nolan Patrick has provided Vegas with 1 Goal in 4 games. 20 year old Peyton Krebs provided Vegas with 0 points in 5 games with a -4 +/-.
Struggles in Net
After being given “The Keys to the Castle” once Marc-Andre Fleury was traded, many skeptics were quick to critique Robin Lehner and his starting ability as a Goalie. Prior to the 2021 season, Lehner put together a nice resume in just 22 short games in the Regular Season & 19 games in the Playoffs with VGK.
Lehner’s Stats (2019-2021)
2019 (3 Games) : .940 SV%, 1.67 GAA, 1 Shutout
Postseason Stats: 16 Games, .917 SV%, 1.99 GAA, 4 Shutouts, 0.2 GSAA
2020 (19 Games) : .913 SV%, 2.29 GAA, 1 Shutout, 2.5 GSAA
Postseason Stats: 3 Games, .887 SV%, 3.62 GAA, -3.1 GSAA
To open the 2021 Season, Lehner is off to a bad start going 1-4 with a .904 SV%, 3.28 GAA & a -0.9 GSAA. However, Robin Lehner has fallen victim to Vegas’ overall slow start to the year with the team being ranked 3rd in Shots Against per Game, 7th in Goals Against per Game & 27th in Penalty Kill %. That isn’t to make an excuse for Lehner’s poor performance to start the year but it does give an indication on how great Marc-Andre Fleury had it when the Knights were healthy & were firing on all cylinders. Now that Vegas is banged up & their team is slowly chugging on to start the year, Lehner is being given the same treatment that other NHL goalies get when their team loses.
2020 All Over Again??
(Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
Though the National Hockey League has gone back to an 82 game season following their condensed 2020 season, the Golden Knights need to figure things out fast.
The opening to their 2021 season is very reminiscent of their 2019/20 season which saw them fire Head Coach Gerard Gallant mid-season for former Shark HC Peter DeBoer after notably losing 4 straight games during that regular season with a record of 24-19-6 through 49 games. Inconsistency played a major factor in Vegas making such a move that year & 2021 is no different for the Knights.
Inconsistency has plagued the Golden Knights since making the Stanley Cup Final in their Inaugural Season & it notably started during the 19/20 playoffs. Though it is not the “Greatest” indicator at how well a team is playing, Vegas’ Powerplay % has continually dropped through the years. Their PP% was ranked 18th in an extended playoff format with a 14.7% in 19-20. Their PP% once again hurt their 20/21 playoff run with their % dropping to dead last with a whopping 9.3%.
2019-20: PP% Ranked 20th (19.4)
2020-21: PP%: Ranked Ranked 27th (16.8)
The aforementioned top lines of Vegas have always been the stars of the show but have seen a gradual decline in both parts of the regular season & in the playoffs for the most part. In the 2020/21 Playoffs, Mark Stone was the most affected from Max Pacioretty missing the beginning parts of their playoff run, only putting together 8 points in 19 games.
The combination of some of Vegas’ top players not performing when needed & their powerplay continuing to drop has shown us that they are human & how inconsistent they truly have been.
Final Thoughts
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
If Vegas’ top guys are out for an extended period of time, they could continue to see a nose dive in the standings. However, It’s still too early to say whether or not the Golden Knights are in trouble. We have a 5 game sample size to make some assumptions at how their season could play out, but this team is capable of making a run and they certainly have the front office to make the tough decisions. As shown above, Max Pacioretty will and should be at the front of Vegas’ leading scorers come seasons end. Though he is currently injured and is expected to miss a “minimum” of 10 games before he can come back, Pacioretty is the most notable of Vegas players that are injured and could comeback to bolster the team.
Detailed above was Vegas’ inconsistency & their PP% playing a big part in their misfortunes and that absolutely has to be the key towards them figuring things out. Vegas’ #1 & #2 lines have rarely changed since their inception and that’s something that desperately needs to be attempted. With injuries galore, the Golden Knights should see this as an opportunity to give young guys like Patrick, Krebs & Howden the chance to make a a name for themselves and to see who they pair well with.
Reference Page
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