Follow @VGK_Buzz



Update: The Minnesota Wild shut out the Golden Knights on March 8, with a 1-0 final. Marc-Andre Fleury took the loss, despite a valiant effort in net. Kevin Fiala was the lone goal scorer for the third-place Wild.

The loss was just the fourth of the season for Fleury. With the shutout, the Wild join the Anaheim Ducks as the only teams to blank the Golden Knights (one apiece).

———————

Somehow, the NHL is creeping up on the halfway point of their abbreviated 56-game schedule. For the time being, first place in the Honda West division belongs to the Vegas Golden Knights, with just 21 games played. Less games, with more points, very efficient.

They’re winning at an alarming rate and there’s a few explanations why. First, they’re a talented club in all three zones, that hasn’t even hit its own potential yet. Alex Pietrangelo is having an up-and-down first season in Vegas. Making things worse, his anticipated defense partner Brayden McNabb has missed a large chunk of games.

Another valid reason for the winning is their favorable opening stretch of the 2020-21 schedule. According to Hockey-Reference, their Strength of Schedule at this point of the season ranks 29th of 31 NHL clubs. Eventually they will all even out due to the format, but their early lead will pay dividends down the stretch.

Most importantly, Marc-Andre Fleury has once again been an iron-man when needed. He recently got his first break since Robin Lehner’s absence, after making 10 straight starts. It was the first game of a true back-to-back. Oscar Dansk got the OT win in his stead.

A six game winning streak is nothing to scoff at. Particularly when the games three and four came against a team (Minnesota) who was red-hot, on a six gamer of their own. They came from behind in the first game and dominated the second.

There are a few interesting stats you’ll find while digging deeper into the Golden Knights’ first 21 games. With 16 wins and just four losses, trends were tough to find, but there were a few things that stood out. Below you’ll find a comprehensive summary of Games 1-21 for the VGK.

Record by Location

Home: 10-2-1, 21 points
Away: 6-2-0, 12 points

It appears that even without fans, the Golden Knights love their home rink. Maybe it’s the home cooked meals?

Record by Goals Scored

Five Goals: 7-0-0 / Next Game: 5-2-0
Four Goals: 3-0-1 / Next Game: 3-0-0
Three Goals: 3-0-0 / Next Game: 3-0-0
Two Goals: 1-3-0 / Next Game: 3-1-0
One Goal: 2–0-0 / Next Game: 0-1-1
Zero Goals: 0-1-0 / Next Game: 1-0-0

Seems like a pretty good mix across the board. Score a lot, score a little, this team is never out of a game.

Record by Shots

With More Than 30 SOG: 6-1-1
With Less Than 30 SOG: 10-3-0

With More Than 27 SOG Against: 10-2-0
With Less Than 27 SOG Against:
6-2-1

These two were interesting stats. The Golden Knights do better when allowing their goalie to see more shots. Their average shots allowed are 27.66 and when they surpass that number, they’re successful. Naturally, they fare better when taking more shots as a team.

Record When Certain Players Score

Mark Stone: 6-0-0
Max Pacioretty: 6-1-1
Alex Tuch: 8-1-1
Any Defenseman: 6-2-0
The Karlsson Line: 13-1-0

You always hear how important depth is and you see it highlighted here. When their best third liner or anyone on their second line scores, the team generally wins. 8-1-1 when Tuch scores and they’re a whopping 13-1-0 when any one of William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, or Jonathan Marchessault gets a tally.

Record by Opponent

Playoff Teams: 4-2-1
Bottom Four: 12-2-0

They have rightfully beaten up on inferior competition. Sitting at 4-3 overall against the other Honda West Division playoff teams isn’t ideal, but they’ll make it work.

Record When Playing Same Team in Back-to-Back Games

7-4-0

Teams have been able to get revenge on the Golden Knights once they play them again. In follow-up games, the Golden Knights are 7-4-0, meaning teams are getting a little better after experiencing the Golden Knights attack. This stat measured only the game immediately following a previous matchup, not all games that came after the first meeting of the season.

Record With or Without

With Pietrangelo: 13-4-1
Without Pietrangelo: 3-0-1

With Theodore: 14-3-1
Without Theodore: 2-1-0

With Coghlan: 9-1-0
Without Coghlan: 7-3-1

With Holden: 7-3-0
Without Holden: 9-1-1

Dylan Coghlan might be more important than we thought!

Record by Goaltender

Marc-Andre Fleury: 15 starts, 12-3-0
Robin Lehner: 5 starts, 3-1-1
Oscar Dansk: 1 start, 1-0-0

Well those were the quick shots for today. The Golden Knights meet the Minnesota Wild on Monday evening. Puck drops at 7pm Central time/5pm Pacific and the Wild will be hungry, looking to avenge their two losses in Vegas last week.

Follow along all season for your VGK news and updates! You can check me out at the links below!

Here's some links to Like, Follow, RT, and Subscribe to!

* Twitter
* Facebook
* Insta
* YouTube
Follow @VGK_Buzz