The Vegas Golden Knights will finish their four-game homestand Monday against the Calgary Flames at T-Mobile Arena. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“(The Flames) have a lot of energy,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Obviously, internally, they’re expecting to win every night and playing like that.”
The Flames started the season hot with a five wins to start the season. They have cooled off, however, coming off three consecutive losses (5-2-1).
“I liked our five-on-five play, but the areas where we got into trouble was with our special teams play,” Calgary coach Ryan Huska said on the Flames website. “Both sides of It wasn’t good enough for our last three games we played.”
Mark Stone leads the Golden Knights (6-2-1) and the NHL in points with 17 and was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week.
KEEP IT ROLLIN’ ????
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????: https://t.co/RWIpDt3Cl0 pic.twitter.com/rggS5HbasI— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 28, 2024
Vegas Golden Knights’ High-Powered Offense
The Golden Knights lead the NHL in goals per game. They average 4.67 goals per outing and have the most 5-on-5 goals in the league with 30.
Vegas, however, ranks 17th in shots per game, averaging 28.7.
“I don’t think we’ll ever be near the top (in terms of shot volume),” Cassidy said. “Until the whole personnel of the team changes.”
Cassidy credits the high scoring with the lack of shot volume to a high shooting percentage.
While the number of numbers won’t come crashing down immediately, there will be a regression at some point throughout the season.
“Usually, that balances out to some level of normalcy. We’re not a high-volume shooting team,” Cassidy said.
???? Cassidy: Execute better than the other team, take care of the details, and our team will be just fine no matter what the opposition brings. pic.twitter.com/1QwYywBRHs
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 28, 2024
Goalie Matchup
Dan Vladar gets the start for the Flames.
Vladar is 2-1-1 with a .904 save percentage.
“Goaltending has been solid, which I think was a question mark when (goalie Jacob) Markstrom left and how these young guys would handle it,” Cassidy said. “Looks like they handled that well.”
Adin Hill will start in net for the Golden Knights. He is 3-2-0 with a .864 save percentage.
Schwindt in; Brisson Out
Golden Knights forward Cole Schwidnt will play against the team that put him on waivers earlier this year. He will play on the fourth line alongside fellow forward Nicolas Roy and Keegan Kolesar.
Schwindt said he played plenty on the wing before, so the adjustment won’t be difficult moving from the center position.
Brendan Brisson comes out of the lineup for Schwindt.
Returning Former Golden Knights
Calgary defensemen Brayden Pachal and Danill Miromanov return to Vegas.
Pachal spent three seasons before moving to Calgary after being claimed on waivers on Feb. 4. He’s played 41 games with the Flames, scoring one goal with seven assists.
“Pachal is a physical defenseman. He’s probably the most physical guy we do have on the back end,” Huska said. “He’s pretty consistent with how he plays the game.”
Miromanov returns to Vegas for the first time after playing 29 career games with the Golden Knights. The Flames acquired Miromanov via trade on March 6 in the deal that sent Noah Hanifin to Vegas.
“’Miro,’ when he’s at his best, has ability on both sides of the puck,” Huska said. “When he’s defending, he has the long reach, not overly physical, but he gets his body in the way. He does have an offensive skill set that he can utilize to help our team.”
Paul Delos Santos is the Las Vegas sports insider for Dice City Sports. Follow him on X at @PaulDelos_.
