Last night, the Vegas Golden Knights started off round two with a bang, defeating the Edmonton Oilers 6-4 to take a 1-0 series lead. Five different Golden Knights scored, and eleven of their eighteen skaters recorded at least one point. This kind of offensive production is nothing new for Vegas in these playoffs. Through their first six games, it’s been the offense leading the way for the Golden Knights this postseason.
Team Stats
To this point in the playoffs, Vegas is leading all teams in scoring with 4.17 goals per game. They have scored at least four goals in every game except Game 1 of the first round against the Jets. That also happens to be the only game they have lost this postseason.
Having the league’s best offense in the playoffs is a bit of a surprise for Vegas. They were a middle-of-the-road offensive team in the regular season, scoring 3.26 goals per game, which was ranked 14th in the NHL.
The Golden Knights are generally known as a more defensive team; well-structured, tight-checking, and hard-hitting. They ranked 11th in the NHL in the regular season with 2.74 goals against per game. That number is up to 3.00 goals against per game in these playoffs, but it hasn’t mattered because the offense has picked up the slack.
Individual Production
Vegas’ best players have shined so far in these playoffs. Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Chandler Stephenson, William Karlsson, and Alex Pietrangelo are all scoring a point per game or higher. Through six games, Stone has ten points, Stephenson nine, Eichel seven, and Karlsson and Pietrangelo six apiece.
Depth players have stepped up offensively as well. Ivan Barbashev, Brett Howden, and Michael Amadio each have five points in the playoffs and are significantly outscoring their regular season paces.
Depth production paired with stars playing like stars is a recipe for putting a lot of pucks in the net. That is exactly what’s happened for the Golden Knights so far.
Leading the Way
The Vegas Golden Knights are 5-1 in the playoffs and up 1-0 in round number two. That is largely because their offense is leading the way. Now, they certainly haven’t been bad defensively, and Laurent Brossoit is giving them solid goaltending, but the offense has been a juggernaut.
Only time will tell if the Golden Knights can keep the scoring up for the remainder of the postseason. The Stanley Cup Finals are still quite a ways away. But to this point, the offense has been the biggest story for Vegas and the primary reason they are in the position they are in.
