The Vegas Golden Knights face the Los Angeles Kings to start the season with both teams looking to take big leaps in the Pacific Division. The Golden Knights missed the playoffs last season for the first time in their franchise history with a 43-31-8 record while the Kings reached the playoffs with the third-best record in the Pacific Division but were eliminated in the First Round in a hard-fought seven-game series. Both teams look to start the season strong and, in this matchup, prove that they are one of the best teams in their division.
The Golden Knights missed the playoffs in a disappointing, injury-plagued season but hope to bounce back this year with a star-studded roster. The offense was one of the bright spots last season, scoring 3.20 goals per game, and looks for Jack Eichel, Chandler Stephenson, and Jonathan Marchessault to lead the way as the three skaters combined for 65 goals and 90 assists. The hope however is that the offense can remain potent without Max Pacioretty and Evgeni Dadonov who added depth to the forward unit but were both traded this offseason to open up cap space.
The offense look to continue to carry the Golden Knights but the defense has a lot of questions entering the season. While Alec Martinez, Alex Pietrangelo, and Shea Theodore will lead the top two pairings, the rest of the unit is in question and the depth will be tested, especially with defenseman Shea Weber already starting the season on the lo ng-term injured reserved. Moreover, starting Robin Lehner is already out for multiple months with an injury and the team will turn to Logan Thompson as their starter who is coming off a year with a .914 save percentage and a 2.68 goals-against average on only 569 shots.