The Vegas Golden Knights may technically occupy second place in the Pacific Division, tucked just behind the Anaheim Ducks, but it hasn’t felt like a contender’s season to this point.
Vegas opened December with a three-game surge, a welcome counterpunch after dropping four straight. Their 13-6-8 record looks respectable on paper, yet anyone watching night-to-night can see the volatility beneath it.
This has been a season defined less by where they are in the standings and more by the swings—sharp highs, puzzling lows and a team still trying to find a rhythm.
Related: Henderson Silver Knights Prospect Notebook: Connelly, Bowman and Cormier
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We begin this edition of News and Rumors with the injury to Carter Hart and what this means going forward for the Golden Knights in net.
Carter Hart Injured
Hart missed Friday’s game against the New Jersey Devils with a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day. The setback comes just after his Golden Knights debut, where he picked up a win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Hart — one of five players from Canada’s 2018 World Junior team acquitted in July in a high-profile sexual-assault case — returned to NHL action this season after the ruling.
Carter Hart. Silver Henderson Knights (Photo credit: Henderson Silver Knights Flickr)
“He tweaked a minor injury during the game against Chicago, then yesterday he probably aggravated it, well he didn’t probably, he did aggravate it a little bit, so we didn’t feel we were in a position where if something happened to Akira that we wanted him to back up,” Bruce Cassidy said.
Hart’s injury isn’t expected to linger, and the team anticipates he’ll return sooner rather than later. In the meantime, Jesper Vikman will serve as the backup to Akira Schmid.
Where’s Dorofeyev?
Pavel Dorofeyev started this season on fire. It was apparent to the entire NHL and to the Golden Knights. Now, the Russian winger has left the team with more questions than answers.
Dorofeyev has just two goals in his last 16 games — both on the power play. His last even-strength goal came 37 days ago, despite holding his spot on the top unit, logging a career-high 18:42 per night, and starting 64% of his shifts in the offensive zone.
“About a year and a half ago I was a rotational player,” the 24-year-old Golden Knights forward told NHL.com. International. “I think I played in 47 games the year before (in 2023-24), and the following season I was in the lineup every night. That’s where the better stats came from — more ice time and being on the first power-play unit. That’s what made the difference.”
Dorofeyev will look to get back into his groove throughout the rest of December.
Loose Pucks
Jack Eichel has slowed down a bit since his hot start to the season, but he is still leading the team in points. Eichel has been the heart of the Golden Knights’ offense this season, but has seen his ups and downs, too.
Where’s Mitch Marner? A question that has been floated around for quite a while but has lingered since the start of the season. This season, he has 26 points in 27 games and only five goals. We’ll see if this first quarter of the season is just him getting adjusted in Vegas; only time will tell.
The Golden Knights continue their road trip into December, playing the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Vegas has won three straight, and we’ll see if they can keep it up as the month progresses.
