Golden Knights season preview: No. 1 goalie choice looming
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NHL.com
- Today, the Vegas Golden Knights, who will play in the West Division.
- The Golden Knights enter the season with two No.
- After that, Cody Glass and Chandler Stephenson are being counted on to replace Stastny's production (38 points in 71 games last season).
- Glass has scored 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 39 NHL games, and the 21-year-old hasn't played since Feb.
- Stephenson has never scored more than 11 goals or 26 points in an NHL season3
- The 56-game regular season will be similar to the playoffs, with Vegas playing each division opponent eight times, and preparing for the playoffs, with the first two rounds within the division.
- DeBoer must use his X's and O's against his division rivals and get Vegas, which scored 12 goals and outshot the opposition 293-172 in its last eight playoff games last season, to adjust its style to score more in the postseason.
- Video: 31 in 31: Vegas Golden Knights 2020-21 season preview.
- The Golden Knights want the 19-year-old playing games, but after playing for Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, will he end up on the taxi squad, at least for a while, depending on how the coronavirus pandemic affects other leagues.
- His 16 goals last season set an NHL career high, even though he played 70 games.
- He might play on the second line with Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone, Vegas' two leading scorers last season, or the third line with a forward like Alex Tuch, who scored 20 goals in 2018-19 and has the potential to score at a higher pace. .
- With Portland of the Western Hockey League from 2016-19, he scored 265 points (84 goals, 181 assists) in 171 games
- Tuch (LW/RW; average draft position: 162.8), who scored an NHL career-high 52 points (20 goals, 32 assists) in 2018-19 but missed significant time because of injury last season, should take a bigger step forward this season
- He had a solid 2020 postseason, leading the Golden Knights with eight goals and scoring 12 points in 20 games