The Vegas Golden Knights have begun the club’s seventh season in the NHL after fulfilling Bill Foley’s famous “Cup in Six” prediction and becoming Stanley Cup Champions in 2023.
Vegas kicked off the defense of their championship on Oct. 11, when the Golden Knights hosted the Seattle Kraken at Opening Knight and have been red hot since. Vegas remains unbeaten through the first five games of the season, marking the most successful start to a season in franchise history.
The Golden Knights’ victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night makes Vegas the first Stanley Cup Champion team to begin the following season 5-0-0 since Wayne Gretzky’s 1985-86 Edmonton Oilers and third in NHL history (also the original Ottawa Senators, 1920-21).
The Golden Knights have continued to find ways to win. Let’s look at some of the stats that have led to Vegas’ hot start.
1 – FIRST NHL GOAL
Vegas rookie defensemen Brayden Pachal and Kaedan Korczak each netted their first NHL tallies. Pachal’s goal came in a 4-1 road victory over San Jose and Korczak’s goal helped lead Vegas’ 3-2 shootout comeback against Dallas.
1.3 – BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
Jack Eichel put the Golden Knights on the board with 1.3 seconds remaining in the first period against the Ducks to give Vegas their first power-play goal of the season.
3 – THE MAGIC NUMBER
Vegas has scored three-or-more goals in four of its five games to start the season. Including the 2023 playoffs and the 2022-23 season, the Golden Knights have won 26 games straight when they score three or more goals. The last time Vegas scored three goals and lost was March 30, 2023, against San Jose (3-4, OT).
4-1 – DÉJÀ VU
To open the season, the Golden Knights defeated the Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks, and Anaheim Ducks all by a score of 4-1. It was the sixth time in franchise history that Vegas had won three straight games by three or more goals.
8 – O FROM THE D
Eight defensemen have skated for Vegas this season, all recording at least one point. The Golden Knights have seen a goal scored from the blue line in all five games from five different defenders. Alec Martinez most recently made his season debut in Winnipeg and scored his first goal of the season. Shea Theodore leads Golden Knights defensemen with five points (1G, 4A) in five games.
9 – MAKING A DIFFERENCE
The Golden Knights have outscored their opponents 19 to 8 this season. Vegas’ nine goal differential is tied for the second best in the NHL.
12 – FINDERS KEEPERS
Captain Mark Stone leads the NHL in takeaways this season with 12. The Golden Knights top the league with 51 team takeaways.
14 – POINTS PER PERIOD
Vegas has only failed to score in one period in their first five games of the season. The Golden Knights scored in nine periods straight before Dallas denied the club a goal in the first period to end the streak.
14 – SHARK SLAYERS
The Golden Knights have earned at least one point in each of the team’s 14 games at SAP Center against the Sharks dating back to 2017-18. Vegas’ 11-0-3 road record against San Jose is tied for the longest active point streak against an opponent (also TBL vs. CHI, 11-0-3).
20 – SPREADING THE WEALTH
20 of the 22 Vegas skaters who have appeared in at least one game this season have recorded a point. The Golden Knights have the best point distribution in the NHL and the best depth scoring with 14 different goals scorers (also Carolina, 14).
23.5 – POWER PLAY PROWESS
The Golden Knights own a 23.5 power play percentage (PP%) so far this season, converting on four of 17 opportunities. Vegas’ PP% is the best through the first five games of the season in franchise history. The Golden Knights four power-play goals have come in two games (ANA 10/14, WPG 10/19) the earliest in club history that Vegas converted twice on the man advantage in two games.
28 – SHOOTERS SHOOT
Jack Eichel leads the NHL in shots to start the season with 28. In back-to-back games against Dallas and Anaheim, Eichel registered eight shots on goal for a combined 16 shots. Eichel became the second player in Vegas history to record eight or more shots in consecutive games (also Pacioretty, 2020).
53 – JUST IN THE NIC OF TIME
Nicolas Hague and Nicolas Roy scored 53 seconds apart late in the second period in Vegas’ game against San Jose to push the Golden Knights ahead, 3-1, into the final frame.
61 – FIGHT CLUB
The Golden Knights have served 65 penalty minutes this season, including four five-minute fighting majors. Keegan Kolesar logged fights in back-to-back games for the first time in his career (SJS 10/12 and ANA 10/14). Last season, Vegas did not have its fourth fighting major until their 23rd game. The Golden Knights finished as the least penalized team in 2022-23 with 566 PIMs and did not reach 60 PIMs until their 12th game of the season.
.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. 82% of the members on the 2023 Vegas Stanley Cup winning roster returned for the 2023-24 season. The 22 returners mark the highest number of returning champions among the past four Stanley Cup winners.
109 – HARD HITTING
Vegas ranks second in the league in hits this season with 109 (Nashville, 112). Paul Cotter ranks second in the NHL in hits with 20 and registered a career-high of nine hits in a single game against Seattle. The Golden Knights recorded 40 hits in their Western Conference Final rematch against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 17.
.944 – TENDY TANDEM
The goalie duo of Adin Hill and Logan Thompson have been a major key to the Golden Knights’ early success this season, posting a combined .944 save percentage. Hill and Thompson’s save rate is ranked second in the league behind Boston (Ullmark and Swayman, .952).
.923 – KILLING IT
Vegas has been shorthanded 13 times this season and did not allow a power-play goal until Winnipeg’s Alex Iafallo scored to end the Golden Knights’ perfect kill streak. With the Jets’ man-up goal, the Golden Knights own a 92.3% kill rate. Vegas owned a 12-game kill streak that dated back to Game 5 of the Western Conference Final, denying opponents of their last 28 power play opportunities.
400 – 400 CLUB
Shea Theodore skated in his 400th game with Vegas against Anaheim. Theodore is the fourth Golden Knight to reach the milestone in franchise history (also Marchessault, Karlsson, and McNabb). In his 400th game, Theodore had a multi-point game including his 10th power-play goal with Vegas, the most by any defenseman in franchise history.
