The Golden Knights, to no surprise, are among the NHL’s best teams at the quarter mark of the season.
They’ve earned points in all but four games and, at 10-4-6, are sixth in the league with 26 points.
The Anaheim Ducks, who host the Knights on Saturday, are one point ahead of them. The Knights have a game in hand.
“It tells you a little bit about our team that we’re always in it,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Good for us for hanging in there.”
Anaheim (13-7-1) defeated the Knights 4-3 in overtime Nov. 8 at T-Mobile Arena. The Knights have earned points in six of the past seven since, including a 4-1 win Thursday in Utah.
Here are three storylines from the first quarter of the season:
1. The Pacific Division is … good?
The changing of the guard in the Pacific Division might be here sooner than we thought. The Knights, winners of four division titles in eight years, might not be ready to accept that.
But it’s not just Anaheim’s shocking surge.
The Seattle Kraken (10-5-5) have flown under the radar despite not having a player average a point per game. Their goaltending has gotten the job done with Joey Daccord (7-3-3) and Philipp Grubauer (3-0-1) playing well.
A renaissance in San Jose is underway with the Sharks (10-8-3) one point back of a playoff spot. Center Macklin Celebrini is third in the league with 31 points in his second season. Goaltender Yarsolav Askarov has six wins this month to go with a .957 save percentage and 1.53 goals-against average.
The Los Angeles Kings (10-6-5) have picked up where they left off, as they try to send captain Anze Kopitar into retirement on a high note.
That’s five teams mentioned without discussing the Edmonton Oilers. The two-time Western Conference champions are off to another slow start (9-9-5). They’re getting usual production from Connor McDavid (32 points) and Leon Draisaitl (27).
But goaltender Stuart Skinner (.881 SV%, 3.00 GAA) has been awful. Backup netminder Calvin Pickard (.851 SV%, 3.87 GAA in eight appearances) hasn’t been any better. Edmonton is fifth-worst in the NHL in goals against (3.57).
The Pacific is no longer a three-team race. New blood is good for it. Maybe it’s not sustainable, but it’s fun.
2. Strong blue line
Early returns on how the Knights would fare without defenseman Alex Pietrangelo have been positive.
Team defense has been solid. The Knights are ninth in goals against (2.75) and tied for second in shots against (25.1).
The blue liners have bought in. Shea Theodore has found his groove with seven points in the past six games while leading the Knights in ice time (23:59).
His longtime defense partner, Brayden McNabb, leads the league with 64 blocked shots. Thursday was his 280th consecutive game played and 842nd overall.
Noah Hanifin has had a jump to his game since returning from a lower-body injury Nov. 4. He has four points and is a minus-4, but his skating has helped tremendously.
“I try to play both ends of the ice as well as I can,” Hanifin said. “When I’m getting up in the play and moving my feet well, I think overall for the five-on-five game, it helps offensive situations.”
Kaedan Korczak has been solid in his first full NHL season as a plus-4 as a third-pairing defenseman. Zach Whitecloud has floated from a top-four role back to the third pair, but the 18:11 of ice time is his most since playing 18:48 per game in 2021-22.
Ben Hutton has scored in back-to-back games after going nearly two seasons without a goal. Jeremy Lauzon has brought physicality, but he’s had trouble staying out of the box and is now on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.
It was expected to be a by-committee approach on the back end. That’s been the case, and the unit has played well.
3. Overcoming injuries again
The Knights have earned points in 16 of 20 games without some of their biggest contributors.
Captain Mark Stone (wrist), goaltender Adin Hill and center William Karlsson (lower body) have been ruled week to week with no imminent return in sight.
It’s not the first time the Knights have dealt with the injury bug, especially to all three. Stone has missed 130 games dating to the 2021-22 season, while lower-body injuries have cost Hill time three of the past four seasons.
Karlsson, once the Knights’ iron man, missed 29 games last season with a lower-body ailment.
“We’ve had our injuries. … They’re key areas,” Cassidy said. “It allows other guys an opportunity to play a little more.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Golden Knights at Ducks
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif.
TV: KMCC-34
Radio: KKGK (1340 AM/98.9 FM)
Line: Knights -135; total 6½
