LAS VEGAS — The Golden Knights are tied for second in the NHL with 39 points on Dec. 6.
Heading into Thursday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, the Knights are alone in fifth place, behind Washington and Minnesota – both with 44 – and New Jersey (45) and Winnipeg (47).
If Vegas wants to make a run at the top, with seven of its next eight games at home, it will need better production on home ice.
The Golden Knights opened the 2024-25 campaign with eight straight wins, outscoring the visitors by 3.0 goals per win (5.38 to 2.38). Since then, during a 3-3 stretch in Vegas, the Knights have averaged 2.00 goals per home game and 3.50 shutouts over the same period.
Overall, Vegas is tied with the other two as one of the second highest scoring teams at home, averaging 3.93 goals per game while ranking 10th in the league in allowing 2.86 goals per contest.
Vegas (20-8-3) opens a three-game homestand Thursday night with the Canucks, followed by visits from Seattle and Anaheim before visiting San Jose on Dec. 27. The Knights then have a perfect four-game homestand. , hosts Calgary, Montreal, Philadelphia and Buffalo.
“We’ll see, you’ve got to play games,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said of the team’s upcoming slate. “We started the year well at home and then let it go a bit. But this is the time when we can settle down again.”
The Golden Knights will take to the ice Thursday without top scorers Ivan Barbashev and Nic Roy.
The Canucks arrived in Vegas after an overtime loss at the Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City on Wednesday night.
“Maybe they are not happy about leaving a point on the table,” “They will look at this as an important game, they were the leaders of the division last year, we are on top now, so it should be like that. one of those rivalries that will be developed as we have started to see with Edmonton.
