Golden Knights in Quarterfinals: Resilience is the name of the game – Hockey Writer – Vegas Golden Knights
If you look strictly at the standings, the Vegas Golden Knights are looking pretty good, even comfortable, to start the 2025-26 season. Ranking sixth in the league with 27 points is not a crisis. However, anyone who has watched the tape knows that the first quarter was anything but linear.
In 22 games, Vegas has a record of 10 wins, 5 draws and 7 losses. They were an enigmatic bunch — oscillating between periods of dominance that looked like a Cup contender and periods of playing “cold” hockey. However, the most important fundamental metric is resilience. They have taken points in 17 of 22 games.
Head coach Bruce Cassidy, never one to mince words, put it succinctly when assessing his team’s refusal to fold: “It tells you something about our team.”
What it tells us is that the Golden Knights have maintained their structural integrity despite facing overwhelming resistance. But as we look toward winter, the question remains: Is this sustainable resilience, or are they treading on thin ice?
Medical office navigation
It wouldn’t be a Vegas season without talk about injured reserve. The notable feature of the first 22 games has been the fluidity of the roster as the core has dealt with serious health issues. The list of current absences is daunting: Captain Mark Stone (wrist), goaltender Adin Hill and center William Carlson (lower body) are all on week-to-week designation and will not return immediately.
Stone’s disappearance is particularly concerning given the historical context. Dating back to the 2021-22 season, the captain has missed approximately 130 games. The Golden Knights become a different animal when he’s in the lineup. When he’s out, the burden shifts dramatically. Likewise, Hill’s lower-body issues have plagued him in three of the past four seasons, raising legitimate questions about durability at the game’s most demanding position.
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Those absences have left Vegas struggling against elite competition, exposing gaps in special teams and goaltending consistency. However, the “next man up” mentality – often an empty cliché in sports – is a real necessity here. The coaching staff is forced to rely on depth to provide more playing time to players who might otherwise be ranked in the bottom six.
blue thread security blanket
The forward force is the revolving door, while the defensive force is the stabilizer. Even with Alex Pietrangelo out, the Golden Knights’ defensive metrics are top-notch. They are currently tied for 12th in goals scored and third in shots per game.
The driving force behind that suppression was the duo of Shai Theodore and Brayden McNabb. Cassidy did not shelter the pair. They are often deployed against the league’s top defenses, yet they produce some of the best defensive numbers in the league. Long term, Theodore and McNabb are the best in the NHL at stopping goals at five-on-five as a defensive pairing with a lot of ice time.
Theodore, who averages the most minutes per game on the team, has also rediscovered his offensive touch, scoring 6 points in the past seven games. Meanwhile, McNabb took on the dirty work, leading the league in blocks while also seeing a significant increase in his average playing time. Add in Noah Hanifin, who has looked significantly more explosive since returning from a lower-body injury on Nov. 4, and a “defense by committee” approach is arguably the team’s most valuable asset right now.
Top-heavy offense and depth issues
Offensively, the Golden Knights have been a study in contrasts. The brilliance of the stars has masked a depth scoring problem that, until recently, threatened the season.
Mitch Marner was a bright spot in Cassidy’s system. With four goals and 17 assists, he is currently on pace to break the team’s assist record. His playmaking skills synergize well with Jack Eichel, who remains the engine of the offense. Eichel recently had two goals and an assist against the Utah Mammoths, a reminder of his ability to break up games.
However, aside from the big guns including breakout scorer Pavel Dorofeyev and steady contributions from Ivan Barbashev and Tomas Hertl, secondary scoring has been almost non-existent in the first 15 games. Veterans like Reilly Smith and Brandon Saad had such a tough time coming out of the gate that fans began to openly question whether age had finally caught up with them. Fortunately, both men have shown signs of life over the past few weeks.
Perhaps the most interesting storyline involves rookie tight end Brayden Bowman. Bowman was thrust into the spotlight due to Stone’s injury, and he was placed in Eichel’s lineup and on the power play unit. He didn’t look out of place, scoring four goals in seven games, including a game-winner.
Crease Conundrum
If the defense is the backbone of the team, then the goalkeeper is the team’s loophole. While the team doesn’t concede many goals overall (thanks to a solid defense), their save percentage is quite low. The Golden Knights’ save percentage ranks near the bottom third of the league.
With Hill out, the net belongs to Akira Schmid. His record is impressive – nine wins in 13 games – but the eye test shows he’s benefiting greatly from the structure in front of him. Schmid has done enough for the win to finish fifth in the league, but the team remains susceptible to soft goals that can sap momentum. One has to wonder if goaltending of this caliber is enough when the schedule is tight.
Pacific Division Upside Down
Context is everything, and the Pacific Division landscape changes dramatically in 2025-26. Gone are the days of predictable three-horse races.
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We saw an amazing surge from the Anaheim Ducks, who are actually ahead of Vegas in the standings. The Seattle Kraken have quietly excelled, while in San Jose the Sharks are enjoying a full-scale resurgence. Led by rookie Macklin Celebrini and led by goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, San Jose is sniffing a playoff berth.
Conversely, the Edmonton Oilers are in free fall due to poor goaltending and a lack of defensive structure. For Vegas, this means division is no longer a piece of cake. Every point will be contested.
judgment
So, who are the “real” Golden Knights? Are they a defensive juggernaut capable of shutting down the league’s best offense? Or do they have a fragile roster that relies on backup goaltending and a top-heavy offense?
The frustration with injuries is justified, but the talent floor of this team is too high to miss the playoffs. They are saving money now, which gives them plenty of patience. If the recent scoring spark with depth is real, and if Hill can return to provide some defensive stability, Vegas remains a formidable force. For now, they are successfully emerging from the chaos. In the modern NHL, sometimes all you have to do is “hang in there” until the cavalry arrives.
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