With the All-Star break behind them, the Vegas Golden Knights (25-20-7) will resume their road trip, on Friday night in Raleigh, NC. Welcoming them will be a familiar face, as they take on Erik Haula and the Hurricanes (29-18-3), a team the Golden Knights have gone 2-1-1 against over their first two seasons. Friday's contest will be their first of two meetings this season.
Currently, the Hurricanes find themselves in a similar position to the Golden Knights, clinging to a Wildcard spot in the playoff picture. If you're talking Hurricanes-Golden Knight's, there's no better storyline than that of Haula. The speedy center was unceremoniously shipped out of Vegas, due to a salary cap crunch, in the off-season. Trades happen in professional sports, but not many happen the day before your wedding. The Haulas will always have that unique memory.
Despite his immense talent and proven success in Vegas - with 62 points in 81 games - his injury history and contract status led to his departure. Haula suffered a major knee injury early in the 2018-19 season, making the 2020 UFA expendable. He's had a respectable season in Carolina when active, amid other issues, with 11 goals and eight assists over 30 injury-shortened games.
He will get two chances to make them regret their choice to trade him. After Friday's game in Carolina the Canes will take a trip to Vegas on Feb. 8. Their second meeting will be the Golden Knights' first game back home, following a full month on the road. Haula may be scratched once again, as he has
drawn the ire of Head Coach Rod Brind'amour. He's been dealing with a lot off the ice and it seems to be affecting his game of late.
Brought over in the Haula deal, Nicolas Roy has been a bright spot for the Golden Knights, when recalled from Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. He's currently suiting up, in Cody Glass' absence, but it remains to be seen if he's done enough to remain when Glass returns. He should, as he has proved it with each recall, but roster crowding may end up holding the exciting, young center down.
The Suspended
Malcolm Subban will be in goal for the back-to-back opener, as Marc-Andre Fleury will be serving his one-game suspension for declining his All-Star game nomination. When the decision was announced, there was a feel that this was a team mandate,
not a Fleury choice.
It has been an uncharacteristic season for the Flower. Over the past two seasons, Fleury has performed as billed. He's been solid, stolen games, and incredibly steady. Thus far the 2019-20 season, the first of his new three-year, $7 million per year deal, has been tumultuous. In an interesting turn of events, Subban's stat line is dangerously close to that of the incumbent starter.
Fleury: 19-12-4, 2.86 GAA, .907 Sv%
Subban: 6-7-3, 3.04 GAA, .898 Sv%
It's no secret that the weakness of the Golden Knights is their questionable defense corps, but the goaltending as a whole has left plenty to be desired. With so little cap space, it's hard to envision the playoff-bound Golden Knights as buyers at the trade deadline, but the blue line could certainly use a boost. In-house options like Zach Whitecloud or Dylan Coghlan could do the trick.
Until then, the Golden Knights defense corps will feature uninspiring options in Deryk Engelland and Nick Holden, with Jon Merrill inexplicably serving as the seventh man/healthy scratch. With more time to analyze the roster, new Head Coach Peter DeBoer may begin implementing changes, when taking the team's current skid into account. The team has lost six of their last seven games (1-5-1).
With a lackluster 52 games in the books, the Golden Knights will be gearing up for one final playoff push. It's never comforting being in a Wildcard position, but it gets you to the dance. They have as good a chance as any to go on another special playoff run, but the time to make that push is now.
They will conclude their longest road trip of the season with two stops in Florida. Games against the Tampa Bay Lightning (Feb. 4) and Florida Panthers (Feb. 6) mark the end of the trip and a much-needed return home. This rematch on February 8 will be DeBoer's first home game as the bench boss of the Golden Knights and crowd reception will largely be dictated by these final four road games.
Games against teams in playoff position are important for a club like the Golden Knights. They're underachieving by all accounts and could use these contests as benchmarks. The team knows they can hang with any club in the league, but wins will go a long way in seeing that to fruition. With 30 games left on the docket, both clubs will be looking for insurance points, as the playoffs continue to creep closer.
Remember you can catch me daily on the Twitter. Don't forget to look up "The Vegas Hockey Buzz" on your favorite podcast apps. Be sure to rate/review and SUBSCRIBE!
Vegas Golden Knights Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»