The Vegas Golden Knights (30-15-4) are back at home to face the Florida Panthers (29-18-3) for the final time of the season on Sunday at 5 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: Vegas 34
Streaming: KnightTime+
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340 | Deportes Vegas 1460
NOTES
The Golden Knights have a 6-9-1 record against Eastern Conference opponents this season and a 4-3-1 record against Atlantic Division opponents.
Vegas owns an 18-6-1 record on home ice this season.
Tomas Hertl is riding an eight-game point streak. He's posted 12 points (6G, 6A) during that stretch.
VGK MILESTONE WATCHMark Stone – Two assists away from 200 assists as a Golden Knight
Brayden McNabb – Five assists away from 100 assists as a Golden Knight
Ivan Barbashev – Eight points away from 100 points as a Golden Knight
Shea Theodore – Eight games away from 500 games as a Golden Knight
CAREER MILESTONE WATCHBrett Howden – One game away from 400 career games
Tanner Pearson – Seven games away from 700 career games
Nicolas Roy – 10 assists away from 100 career assists
VGK SCORING LEADERSJack Eichel – 61 points (14G, 47A)
Mark Stone – 44 points (13G, 31A)
Shea Theodore – 44 points (6G, 38A)
Tomas Hertl – 38 points (17G, 21A)
Pavel Dorofeyev – 31 points (21G, 10A)
Ivan Barbashev – 31 points (15G, 16A)
Alex Pietrangelo – 25 points (3G, 22A)
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Knights were defeated by the Dallas Stars, 4-3, in their last game of a two-game trip on Friday night at American Airlines Center. Jack Eichel scored twice for the Golden Knights to become the fastest player in franchise history to reach 60 points in a single season. Shea Theodore also netted a power-play goal while Mark Stone had three assists to hit the 300-point mark as a Golden Knight. Jason Robertson led the way for the Stars with two goals including the game-winning tally.
SEASON SERIESIn their first meeting of the season, the Golden Knights fell to the Panthers, 4-3, in overtime on Oct. 19 at Amerant Bank Arena. Tanner Pearson, Keegan Kolesar and Brett Howden scored for Vegas as the team picked up a point to improve to 0-2-1 during its three-game trip. Ilya Samsonov recorded 45 saves in the loss. Sam Reinhart recorded three points (1G, 2A) including an assist on Gustav Forsling's game-winner in overtime.
OPPOSITION UPDATEThe Florida Panthers come into Sunday's matchup with a 29-18-3 record and 61 points through 50 games. Florida has gone 5-4-1 in its last 10 games and is one point behind Toronto for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers will finish a four-game trip in Vegas on Sunday that has seen the team go 2-1-0 so far. Twelve different Panthers had at least one point their 7-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night at SAP Center. Sam Reinhart leads the defending Stanley Cup Champions in scoring with 53 points (29G, 24A) while Matthew Tkachuk's 44 points (15G, 29A) and Aleksander Barkov's 41 points (11G, 30A) round out Florida's 40-point club. Sergei Bobrovsky (20-11-2) and Spencer Knight (9-7-1) have combined for 29 wins in net this year.
PACIFIC DIVISION STANDINGS
Edmonton Oilers – 31-15-3, 65 points
Vegas Golden Knights – 30-14-4, 64 points
Los Angeles Kings – 26-14-6, 58 points
Calgary Flames – 24-16-7, 55 points
Vancouver Canucks – 21-17-10, 52 points
Seattle Kraken – 22-25-3, 47 points
Anaheim Ducks – 20-23-6, 46 points
San Jose Sharks – 14-32-6, 34 points
A VEGAS VICTORY WOULD...
- Mark the 343rd win in franchise history
- Give the Golden Knights a 7-5-2 all-time record against Florida
- Give the Golden Knights an 19-6-1 record at home this season
KEYS TO THE GAMES
Defend The Fortress: The Golden Knights have a 3-2-1 record at T-Mobile Arena so far this month. Sunday's game is the first of a three-game homestand and Vegas is keen to gain some momentum before another long road trip.
Done Talking: Jack Eichel commented after the loss to Dallas that the team has ‘done enough talking’ about its struggles in the last 10 games. Instead of discussing what’s necessary to correct the scoresheet, Eichel said that it was about committing to competing and having the will to win.
