The NHL’s newest team, the Vegas Golden Knights, haven’t played like a typical expansion team.
Expansion clubs usually struggle out of the gate as they try to mesh young talent with veterans other teams didn’t value enough to protect in the expansion draft.
But the Golden Knights, at least early on, don’t look like a new franchise. They picked up their fourth win of the season Sunday night with a 3-1 victory over the Boston Bruins at T-Mobile Arena, and their 4-1-0 record actually is the best ever start by an expansion team through five games.
Vegas’ strength so far has been defense and goaltending.
It helps when you select three-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury in the expansion draft, but in addition to ranking seventh in the league in goals against average, the Knights are killing penalties at a 90.9 percent rate, which ranks fourth-best. They went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill against the Bruins.
The real test for Vegas is coming up. Fleury is injured after posting a 3-1-0 record, and now the team’s goalie duo is Malcolm Subban and Maxime Lagace. On paper, that’s the worst tandem in the league, despite Subban’s quality performance Sunday.
But there’s no question the Knights have had a successful start in Vegas. Not only are they entertaining to watch, they’re also winning games. There’s not much more you can ask of an expansion team.
Let’s hit a few other notes from Bruins-Golden Knights:
— Here’s how the Bruins have fared in their first ever-game against some recent expansion teams.
- 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Dec. 30, 1998
- 4-2 win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Nov. 6, 1999
- 6-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 18, 2000
- 3-2 loss in OT to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 8, 2000
- 3-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 15, 2017
— One of the few positives for the Bruins on Sunday night was their penalty kill, which went 4-for-4.
— Alex Tuch scored his first career goal to give Vegas a 1-0 lead in the second period.
Massachusetts hockey fans might remember Tuch from his career at Boston College. He scored 32 goals for the Eagles between the 2014-15 and 2015-16 campaigns.
— Bruins right winger David Pastrnak scored Boston’s only goal against the Knights. He ended the road trip with two goals and an assist over the final two games. Pastrnak and Brad Marchand lead the B’s with three goals each through five games.
— Patrice Bergeron did not play against Vegas, but the veteran center could return to the ice soon for his season debut.
— Marchand has played very well on the road of late, and he added to the point tally below with an assist on Pastrnak’s goal.
— The Bruins will have a chance to pick up points when they play seven of their next eight games at TD Garden, starting Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks. Three of the four teams on Boston’s upcoming four-game homestand failed to make the playoffs last season.
Thumbnail photo via Joshua Dahl/USA TODAY Sports Images
