Morning Skate Report: March 21, 2024

The Vegas Golden Knights (36-25-7) continue their homestand as they take on the Seattle Kraken (28-27-12) for the final time this season on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: ESPN
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340 | Deportes 1460
Pregame Show: Vegas 34 at 7 p.m.

NOTES
Thursday’s game is the fourth and final meeting of the season between Vegas and Seattle.

Vegas is 4-6-0 in its last 10 games played, while Seattle is 4-5-1.

With a point in Thursday's matchup against Seattle, Jack Eichel will have 30 points at home this season.

VGK MILESTONE WATCH
Logan Thompson – one win away from 50 wins as a Golden Knight
Jonathan Marchessault –five goals away from tying the franchise single-season goal record (William Karlsson, 43)

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
Ivan Barbashev – two goals away from 100 career goals
Jack Eichel – two points away from 500 career points

VGK SCORING LEADERS
Jonathan Marchessault – 59 points (38G, 21A)
Mark Stone – 53 points (16G, 37A)
Jack Eichel – 52 points (21G, 31A)
William Karlsson – 46 points (24G, 22A)
Chandler Stephenson – 41 points (14G, 27A)
Noah Hanifin – 39 points (11G, 28A)
Ivan Barbashev – 38 points (14G, 24A)

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Knights fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-3, on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. In his 500^th game as a Golden Knight, Jonathan Marchessault opened scoring for the night before Tampa came back to score two in the first period. Brett Howden tied the game with his sixth of the season during the second period. Tampa broke the tie with a power-play goal before Ben Hutton tied the game back up, 3-3. The Lightning came back to score two additional goals, cementing their 5-3 win.

2023-24 SEASON SERIES
The Golden Knights have a 2-1-0 record against the Kraken this season. Vegas took a 4-1 win in the season opener on Oct. 10 with goals from Jack Eichel, Chandler Stephenson, Ivan Barbashev and Jonathan Marchessault. The teams met again in the Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park as Seattle skated away with a 3-0 win. The third meeting happened on March 12, as the Golden Knights turned a 4-2 third period deficit into a 5-4 overtime win. Marchessault scored twice in regulation to go with goals from William Karlsson and Pavel Dorofeyev before Eichel buried the game-winning goal in overtime.

OPPOSITION UPDATE
The Seattle Kraken hold sixth place in the Pacific Division with 68 points. The Kraken are on a five-game losing streak with their most recent loss against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. Seattle lost 6-2 to the Sabres with Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers netting the only goals. Jared McCann (27G, 26A) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (18G, 30A) lead the team in points with 53 and 48 respectively.

A VEGAS VICTORY WOULD…
-Mark the 304^th win in franchise history
-Improve the Golden Knights’ all-time record against the Kraken to 10-2-0
-Improve their record against Pacific division teams at home to 8-3-0

KEYS TO THE GAME
Forecheck: Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said he feels positive about the direction the team is going, especially with the improvements to the forecheck. Cassidy credits the returns of William Carrier and Ben Hutton and the addition of Noah Hanifin in establishing the forecheck which has then spread through the rest of the team, allowing them to spend less time in their end and getting more O-zone time.

Play a Team Game: In their matchup against the Lightning, the team played as a team with everyone contributing. Carrying over that style of play will put Vegas in a good spot against Seattle.

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