LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights have one last chance on their season-long six-game homestand to get right.
On Thursday, the Golden Knights are set to do battle with the New York Islanders for the first time this season at T-Mobile Arena.
Things have started to grow dire for the Golden Knights as of late, winning only one of their last five games at home and securing only three of a possible 10 points. The recent cold spell, as well as other results in the Pacific Division, has the Golden Knights in an unfamiliar position: on the outside looking in of the playoff picture. For the team and the fanbase’s sakes, a victory tonight would go a long way towards getting things back on the right track.
Here are a few of the major storylines to keep in mind as the homestand comes to a close.
Stop the bleeding
If only for their own purposes, the Golden Knights are in desperate need of a win to close out the homestand.
Outside of winning only one of the current five games at T-Mobile Arena, the team is also riding a three-game losing streak and only winning two of their last eight games. It has put the Golden Knights in danger of being out of the playoff picture after Thanksgiving, which is usually the benchmark of the first quarter of the season. Leaders will have to emerge, depth is going to have to step up, and all hands must be on deck in order to get the season back on track.
Calling in the cavalry
With William Karlsson on injured reserve and depth players not producing, the Golden Knights are using this game to implement their first significant lineup change.
On Wednesday, the Golden Knights called up forward Braeden Bowman from the Henderson Silver Knights, and he is expected to make his NHL debut tonight on a line with Pavel Dorofeyev and Tomas Hertl. The 22-year-old undrafted forward has been a revelation so far in Henderson this season, scoring seven goals and 12 points in as many games for the AHL affiliate. Bowman has been trusted in all three zones and in all situations by Silver Knights head coach Ryan Craig, and the Golden Knights are hoping for more of the same to shore up the bottom six.
Lost on an island
Already starving for any kind of positive momentum, the Golden Knights ran into the wrong opponent at the wrong time.
The Islanders swept the Knights last season, with Brandon Saad being the only Vegas player to score a goal. Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin stonewalled the Golden Knights both times and will get the start again, and they boast a more exciting offense than in seasons past with leading scorer Bo Horvat (20 points) and first overall pick defenseman Matthew Schaefer (12 points). The Golden Knights will need the likes of Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore to serve as counters in the event that the game is more high-scoring than they typically expect from the typically defense-oriented Islanders.