The Vegas Golden Knights closed out one of the team’s most successful years in its young history when 2023 came to an end. Finishing with the fourth-best record in the NHL (48-20-12), the Golden Knights posted 108 points and a .675-point percentage in the calendar year.
2023 brought many firsts for Vegas: the first captain to score a hat trick in a Stanley Cup Final-clinching game, the first undrafted player to be awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy since Wayne Gretzky, the first Stanley Cup to belong to the city of Las Vegas and the first championship banner to be raised at T-Mobile Arena.
In addition to the hardware of 2023, there are many other bright spots for the Golden Knights to reflect upon. Let’s dive into some of the stats that made Vegas one of the top competitors of 2023.
1 – THE YEAR OF AMMO
Michael Amadio rang in 2023 for the Golden Knights when he scored the first goal of the New Year in a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 2, 2023. Amadio finished the most successful calendar year of his career with 34 points, 17 goals, and 17 assists.
4 – NEXT MAN UP IN NET
The Golden Knights used five different goaltenders in 2023, including four different goalies in a four-game stretch. Each goalie was victorious during the four-game stretch, a first in the NHL. Adin Hill, Logan Thompson, Jiri Patera, Jonathan Quick and Laurent Brossoit all manned the net for Vegas in 2023.
6 – COMEBACK KIDS
The Golden Knights did not count themselves out when they entered the third period trailing their opponents. Vegas posted six third-period comebacks in 2023, recording a .240 win percentage when they entered the final frame down, the seventh-highest win percentage in the NHL.
7 – SEVENTH HEAVEN
Vegas is the first team in NHL history to start the season 7-0-0 as defending Stanley Cup Champions. The Golden Knights’ win streak surpassed the Edmonton Oilers (1985-86) and Ottawa Senators (1920-21) and also set a new franchise record for their best start.
9 – CLOUD NINE
The Golden Knights left no room for debate that they would be crowned champions at the end of Game 5 in the Stanley Cup Final. Vegas’ nine goals were the most scored by a team in a Cup-clinching game in NHL history and the most since the 1942 Stanley Cup Final between Toronto and Detroit. It also marked the first time in franchise history that the Golden Knights scored nine goals in one game.
12 – JACK ATTACK
Jack Eichel recorded a franchise-best 12-game point streak, three games longer than any other in VGK history. Eichel posted 19 points (7-12—19) during the 12-game stretch and had the most helpers (12) during a Vegas skater’s point streak in team history.
100 – EICHEL 100 VGK POINTS
Jack Eichel reached 100 points with the Golden Knights on Oct. 27 against the Chicago Blackhawks. Eichel reached the milestone in 110 games, the second-fastest Vegas player in franchise history to do so, besting Jonathan Marchessault (111 GP) and just short of Mark Stone (103 GP).
34 – FIRST THINGS FIRST
The Golden Knights won 34 times when scoring first in 2023, the fifth most wins in the league. Alex Pietrangelo and Keegan Kolesar had the fastest goals scored of 2023, coming in at 1:00 (Nov. 10 vs. SJS) and 0:27 (March 9 vs. TBL) into regulation respectively. Vegas’ .791 win percentage when tallying the first goal was also ranked fifth in the NHL.
74 – TAKEAWAY TIME
Jack Eichel’s 74 takeaways in 2023 were the most among the Golden Knights and ranked seventh in the league. Vegas’ 690 takeaways last year were the third most in the NHL.
.814 – THE BAND IS BACK TOGETHER
The Vegas’ opening night lineup consisted entirely of players whose names are on the Stanley Cup from the previous season, something no champion has done since the 2012-13 Los Angeles Kings. The team had 81.4 percent of the members on the 2023 Vegas Stanley Cup winning roster return for the 2023-24 season. The 22 returners mark the highest number of returning champions among the past four Stanley Cup winners.
.932 – KING OF THE HILL
Adin Hill led the way for NHL goaltenders, sitting atop the performance statistics for 2023. Hill’s .932 save percentage and 2.07 goals against average were the best among any netminder who appeared in 25 or more games last year.
350 – GOALS GALORE
The Golden Knights closed out the year with 350 goals including the postseason, with the final one scored by William Karlsson on Dec. 28 against Los Angeles. Karlsson was Vegas’ second-highest point scorer in 2023 with 59 points (22G, 37A).
364 – THE GLOW UP IS REAL
Vegas named Bruce Cassidy head coach of the Golden Knights on June 14, 2022, just 364 days later, Cassidy lifted the Stanley Cup at T-Mobile Arena on June 13, 2023. Cassidy became the ninth head coach in the last 30 years to win the Stanley Cup in his first season with a franchise.
600 – BENCH BOSS BUTCH
Bruce Cassidy coached his 600th career NHL game as bench boss on Oct. 28 in Los Angeles. Cassidy holds a 366-189-76 record as an NHL head coach, ranking 47th all-time in league history. Behind the Vegas bench, Cassidy has led the Golden Knights to a combined 74-34-14 and the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Championship in 2023.
1,458 – BLOCKED SHOTS
Vegas recorded the second-most blocked shots in the league. Brayden McNabb led the way for the Golden Knights with 215, just three short of Jacob Trouba (NYR).
1,754 – HARD-HITTING
The Golden Knights laid 1,754 hits last year, the ninth most in the NHL, Keegan Kolesar’s 268 hits in 2023 were the fourth most among all skaters.
