The Vegas Golden Knights face the Columbus Blue Jackets in a matchup between two teams having opposite starts to the season. The Golden Knights have a 16-6-1 record, which is the best in the Pacific Division but are hoping to bounce back from two losses in a row. The Blue Jackets have a 7-12-1 record and with back-to-back losses have fallen into last place in the Metropolitan Division. The Golden Knights look to remain near the top of the Western Conference while the Blue Jackets hope to improve in the Metropolitan Division and the upcoming game looks to be a good one as a result.
The Golden Knights are having a great season behind an offense that is scoring 3.48 goals per game. Jack Eichel, Chandler Stephenson, and Mark Stone have scored 26 goals and 37 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has been great as well. Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, and William Karlsson have combined for 23 goals and 25 assists while defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore have added six goals and 32 assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has been great but the defense has also stepped up, allowing only 2.65 goals per game. Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore have combined for 3.3 defensive point shares and 83 blocked shots while Alec Martinez and Alex Pietrangelo have combined for 2.7 defensive point shares to give the Golden Knights two great defensive pairings. In addition, goaltender Logan Thompson has been great in the net with a .920 save percentage and a 2.48 goals-against average on 465 shots.