NEWARK, N.J. — Now that the Carter Hart debut is behind them, the Vegas Golden Knights can get on with the task of building off Tuesday’s shootout win over the Blackhawks as they start a five-game road swing through the NHL’s Metropolitan Division.

It starts Friday at Prudential Center against the Devils, who have been scuffling a bit since Jack Hughes accidentally cut his finger during a team dinner on Nov. 13 and will be out eight weeks. New Jersey is 4-6 in its last 10 contests and have dropped three straight.

On Sunday, the Knights face the Rangers, who are without star defenseman Adam Fox who injured his shoulder Nov. 29 and will be out for the foreseeable future.

Then on Tuesday, Vegas faces the Islanders at UBS Arena and the Isles will be without veteran forward Kyle Palmieri, who injured his knee last Friday against the Flyers. They’re also without defenseman Alex Romanov who is done for the season following shoulder surgery and probably without Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who has an upper-body injury. Pageau scored the game-winner in overtime when New York beat Vegas 4-3 at T-Mobile Arena Nov. 13.

So while the Knights have been making do without center William Karlsson and goaltender Adin Hill for a while now, they will face at least three opponents on this trip that are also dealing with injuries to key performers.

“There’s always concerns,” coach Bruce Cassidy said of the upcoming trip. “Players get hot and get cold. That’s going to happen. As long as they don’t all go cold at the same time.

“In general, over our first 26 games, we’ve been out-chancing teams. We’ve done a good job of that most of the year.”

For the Knights, getting forward Mark Stone back has been big. The captain has registered points in all four games since he returned to the lineup Nov. 26 after missing more than a month with an upper-body injury. In 10 games, Stone has 17 points.

“It’s an important trip,” he said after Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout win over Chicago. “We’ve left some points out there. But we’ve gotten over the hump the last couple of games.

“We’ve played some pretty good hockey on the road and we’ve got some confidence going into the trip. It’s always tough going into New York, playing Jersey, the Islanders and the Rangers — those are tough tests. We just have to build off this.”

Having Hart, who was outstanding in overtime and the shootout against the Blackhawks in winning his return to the NHL after being away for nearly two years, helps. Akira Schmid, the former Devil, is likely to be in net Friday at Prudential Center with Hart probably getting the call Sunday at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.

It sets up the likelihood that Hart will be in goal when the Knights face his former team the Flyers next Thursday at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Hart played six years with the Flyers, who had drafted him in the second round back in 2016.  

“The schedule sets up well in that there’s no back-to-backs,” Cassidy said. “We have to keep Akira sharp so there’ll be opportunities for both to play on the trip.”

The play of rookie forward Braeden Bowman has been a nice surprise as he has five goals and nine points in 11 games since his call-up last month from AHL Henderson. Cassidy has left Bowman on Jack Eichel’s line along with Ivan Barbashev and the trio continues to produce.

Stone, who was in that spot prior to his injury, seems to be comfortable skating with Mitch Marner and Brett Howden as Marner, normally a right wing, has been on the left side.

The other Golden Knight to keep an eye on this trip is Cole Reinhardt, who has temporarily replaced Reilly Smith in the lineup and has provided speed and energy playing on Vegas’ fourth line with Colton Sissons and Keegan Kolesar. Cassidy has liked what he has seen from Reinhardt the last couple of games.

“He’s come into the lineup and given us good minutes,” Cassidy said of Reinhardt, who has been in and out of the lineup all season.

There is one unusual aspect that separates part of the road trip from the others the team takes during the course of the season. They’ll set up shop in Manhattan and stay in the same hotel for the entire time they’re in the metropolitan area instead of switching hotels.

“I think it’s good timing,” Cassidy said. “We spent a lot of time at home in November. Great family time, Thanksgiving, I imagine people were in to visit. Now, they get to be with their second family every day, so the timing is good.

“The longer ones can get to you during the season but this one I think the timing is good. I think everybody likes coming to New York. There’s a lot to do for everybody. It’s an easy city to walk around. There’s no shortage of good restaurants.

“You get to stay in one spot. It’s nice to be able to travel and hang up your clothes. That’s a nice perk too.”