Morning Skate Report: October 22, 2024

The Vegas Golden Knights (3-2-1) look to rebound from a tough road trip when they take on the Los Angeles Kings (3-1-2) at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday at 8 p.m.

TRANSFER INFORMATIONTV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340 | Deported Vegas 1460

NOTES
Tuesday's game will be the Golden Knights' first four-game homestand. Vegas faces Los Angeles on Tuesday, Ottawa on Friday, San Jose on Saturday and Calgary on Monday.

Vegas hosts 9th^Th Island knights in the fortress. All fans who purchased tickets through this link will receive a Golden Knights Hawaiian shirt.

The Golden Knights have a 3-0-0 record at T-Mobile Arena in the 2024-25 season.

VGK MILESTONE CLOCKBruce Cassidy – One win in 100 with the Golden Knights
Nicolas Roy – Three games away from reaching 300 games as a Golden Knight
Shea Theodore – Four points away from 300 points as a Golden Knight
Jack Eichel – Five assists out of 100 assists as a Golden Knight
Mark Stone – Nine goals away from 100 goals as a Golden Knight

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
Bruce Cassidy – Nine road wins out of 400 career NHL wins
Tomas Hertl – Nine points away from 500 career points

VGK RATING GUIDEJack Eichel – 10 points (2G, 8A)
Mark Stone – 9 points (2G, 7A)
Ivan Barbashev – 8 points (4G, 4A)
Shea Theodore – 7 points (1G, 6A)

LAST TIMEThe Golden Knights lost in overtime to the Florida Panthers by a final score of 4-3 on Saturday night at Amerant Bank Arena. Tanner Pearson and Keegan Kolesar each scored their first goals of the season and Nicolas Roy had two assists on the night. The Panthers scored with 16 seconds left in overtime to secure a 4-3 victory over the Golden Knights. Although the Panthers scored four goals, Ilya Samsonov made 45 saves, tying the second-highest save total in franchise history.

SEASON SERIES 2023-24The Golden Knights lost 2-1-0 to the Los Angeles Kings in the 2023-24 season. Jack Eichel scored the shootout winner in the first meeting between Vegas and Los Angeles last season in a 4-3 win on October 28 at Crypto.com Arena. In their second game on November 8, the Golden Knights lost 4-1, with William Karlsson scoring the only goal. In the last meeting between the two teams, the Golden Knights defeated the Kings 3-2 on December 28th.

OPPOSITION UPDATEThe Los Angeles Kings are 3-1-2 in their first six games. The Kings earned a 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks in their last game on Sunday night at Honda Center. Tuesday's game against Vegas is the final of a seven-game season-opening road trip for Los Angeles. Anze Kopitar led the Kings with eight points (3G, 5A), while Adrian Kempe had six points (3G, 3A). Los Angeles finished last season with a record of 44-27-11 and 99 points. The Kings qualified for the 2023-24 playoffs, but lost to the Edmonton Oilers in five games in the first round. The Kings made the playoffs each of the last three seasons, losing in the first round to the Oilers. Adrian Kempe led the Kings with 75 points (28G, 47A) last season, followed by Kevin Fiala with 73 points (29G, 44A) and Anze Kopitar with 70 points (26G, 44A).

PACIFIC DIVISION STANDING
Calgary Flames – 4-0-1, 9 points
Los Angeles Kings – 3-1-2, 8 points
Seattle Kraken – 4-2-0, 8 points*
Vegas Golden Knights – 3-2-1, 7 points*
Vancouver Canucks – 2-1-2, 6 points
Anaheim Ducks – 2-2-1, 5 points
Edmonton Oilers – 2-4-0, 4 points
San Jose Sharks – 0-4-2, 2 points

A win in Vegas would…– Mark the 316th win in franchise history
– Give the Golden Knights an 18-12-3 all-time record against Los Angeles
– Extended Vegas' home winning streak to four games

KEY TO THE GAMEDefensive Control: Head coach Bruce Cassidy mentioned that the change in defensive pairings could cause some players to figure out what is best for the three pairs. According to defenseman Noah Hanifin, the defense is looking for larger gaps to facilitate breakouts and give forwards more time to attack.

Four-tify the fortress: The Golden Knights return to the Fortress for a four-game homestand. The Golden Knights are 3-0-0 at home and look to continue that winning streak.