New York Islanders Can Beat Vegas Golden Knights (Game Thread)

The New York Islanders welcome the Vegas Golden Knights to Brooklyn. A team that is defying all logic in ranking as the top team in the NHL.

No one thought that the Vegas Golden Knights would be any good this season. And in they roll into Brooklyn to face the New York Islanders with their 8-1-0 record in tow.

Sure they’ve had a pretty easy go when it comes to the schedule. They’ve faced the Arizona Coyotes twice, followed by the Buffalo Sabres, and the Colorado Avalanche. All are teams that are right there at the bottom of the standings. (Except for Colorado who’s still near the top of the Central with that good start). But they’ve won those games.

They’ve only lost to the Detroit Red Wings, a team that should be at the bottom of the standings again this season.

The Golden Knights aren’t just winning these games by the skin of their teeth either. They currently have a +18 goal differential. The best in the NHL at the moment. That 7-0 drubbing of the fading Colorado Avalanche surely helped. But they were still +11 before that.

The Golden Knights shouldn’t be this good. Yet here we are, the Islanders are just above 0.500 and the Golden Knights are defying the narrative that was laid out for them before they even played a game.

They’ll slow down, that’s undeniable. But they’ve now got 16 points in the bank that no one expected them to have. We asked our writers what do the Islanders need to do to get two points and start the Golden Knights decline?

What Our Writers Said

Andrew Tessler: The isles must not gamble (no pun intended) in our own end with risky clearing attempts or passes

David Lazar: The Islanders power-play has been knight-and-day with Ryan Pulock in the lineup, so expect him to line-up on the first PP pairing and try to add a goal.

Mitch Anderson: The Isles ace in the hole has to be the defense. With only three goals from defenders, it’s time for them to step up an contribute by putting pucks in the net against what should be lower quality opposition.

Join the discussion in the comments!