LAS VEGAS – No one in the NHL has been better than the Golden Knights since Nov. 21, as their 16-3-1 streak puts them atop the league overall with 57 points.
In all aspects of their game – offense, defense and special teams – no one has put together a more complete game than Vegas over the past 6 1/2 weeks.
“It’s just details in our game,” said Jack Eichel, who scored a goal in Saturday’s 3-1 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. “I think we understand that you’re not going to give your best every night. You’re not going to have your best legs, the puck isn’t going to be nice. But we found different ways to win, and different guys stepped up. Obviously, we have a lot of confidence in our goalkeepers and our defenders.
“We’re just trying to play the best we can within our structure every night. And I think that gives us a chance to win. Obviously we have good players making good plays. It’s good when you get into it. a race like this, obviously there’s a certain confidence in the room. You expect to win every game and that’s the mentality of our group. We expect to win every hockey game.
Tanner Laczynski scored his first goal of the season, Mark Stone added his 10th of the campaign and goaltender Adin Hill stopped 23 shots in the victory.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
SOMETHING SPECIAL: With only the third goal of his career, Laczynski said he didn’t score the first of this season, and as a member of the Golden Knights, the same night Stone and Eichel scored on his list of goals. But he will take it. Laczynski was playing only his sixth game with Vegas.
“Yeah, it’s pretty special,” said Laczynski, who began his career in Philadelphia and signed with Vegas as a free agent this offseason. “Every time you score a goal, it’s special. But I mean, to do it here, in this building, it’s even better.”
600 FOR STONE: With his goal in the first period, Stone scored the 600th point of his career. Stone became the eighth-fastest active Canadian player to 600 points in the NHL, in 665 games played. Stone scored 311 points in 6 1/2 seasons with Ottawa, and now has 289 points in his 6 1/2 seasons in Vegas. Stone is on pace to finish with 89 points, which would be a career high.
“So cool for Stoney,” Eichel said. “Well deserved. He means so much to this group and this organization. Anyone who knows Stoney knows how much he loves the game. He has never cheated for points or for offense. It has always been defense, structure and putting the team first.”
Miserly KNIGHTS: Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy has reiterated throughout the season how much he wants his team to have the best defense in the Pacific Division. During their current 20-game streak since Nov. 21, the Knights have allowed a season-high 2.20 goals against per game. This helped reduce their GAA to the seventh lowest in the league, at 2.67 per game for the season.
