Locked On Golden Knights - Daily Podcast On the Vegas Golden Knights

Golden Knights players met with the front office Tuesday. Then some players, GM Kelly McCrimmon, and head coach Bruce Cassidy answered questions for the media. The themes of the presser included adversity, missing an opportunity, and a lack of chemistry. for VGK. McCrimmon said he felt VGK had its best roster the team has had. Cassidy said the team played hard despite not advancing past the first round. McCrimmon said he met with the upcoming UFA's and said that there will be more roster turnover this year. He also said he has had discussions with Jonathan Marchessault's agent. Marchessault said he has done everything to prove he belongs in Las Vegas. Marchessault also said playing without a contract weighed on him this season. We also talk about the San Jose Sharks winning their first ever top draft pick in the Draft Lottery.

Knowing the history of the VGK organization, will Bruce Cassidy be on the hot seat to begin next season despite injuries and a lack of chemistry attributable to players returning to the lineup at different times? VGK was bounced from the playoffs after just one series in the playoffs after expecting another run for the Cup. Injuries will be a big part of the narrative when the team holds its final presser of the season. We discuss what we feel might be some of the discussions today. And, we also make our predictions or the western conference playoffs.

The Golden Knights were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round as they fell to Dallas Sunday 2-1 in Game 7 of the series. We recap the final game of the season and the opening round series, one that VGK once led two-games-to-none. Scoring was down for VGK in the series. Brett Howden scored the only Golden Knights goal in the final game. Radek Faksa scored the game winner for the Stars early in the third on a backhander. Then the Dallas defensive lockdown took over. Post-game Bruce Cassidy said there were nine surgeries for his team this season. We talk about the turning point of the series and the Drivers and Passengers vs Dallas

The greatest two words in sports: Game 7. The stage is set for the 7th game of the series between VGK and the Dallas Stars tied at 3-3. There are some streaks on the line: Dallas HC Pete DeBoer is 7-0 in Game 7s. VGK's veteran defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Alec Martinez are each 5-0 in Game 7s. Something has to give tonight. We talk about attrition and possible returning players for the Stars. How much will home ice advantage pay off for Dallas? Will the hot goaltending continue? We have opinions on how VGK can win or lose the game. And we have our Locks and Predictions for Game Seven.

What players need to step up in Friday's Game 6 of the opening round series vs Dallas? That one of our main discussion points. VGK is trailing in the series 3-2 and returns to home ice. Bruce Cassidy proclaimed that his team will be ready to play and play well. We can expect more changes Cassidy said. Cassidy hinted Ivan Barbeshev could be on the move again. This time to the second line with Stephenson and Stone. We should see other changes as well and we don't know as of press time who will be the starter in the crease. We talk about our confidence level in VGK coming back in this series. We also have our WTF feature with comments from fans.

The Golden Knights will face an elimination game on Friday after losing 3-2 in Dallas to the Stars Wednesday night. VGK's Alex Pietrangelo committed a retaliatory penalty by hitting Tyler Seguin of the Stars with a backhanded punch. The penalty proved to be costly as Jason Robertson scored the game winning goal with Pietrangelo looking on from the penalty box. It was the second time in two games that Pietrangelo committed a penalty that led to the game winning goal. He lost his composure. Dallas played keepaway again after that score in the third period to win its 40th game after leading at the second intermission. The Dallas power play was 2-for-4. The Golden Knights Bruce Cassidy made several line changes and inserted Pavel Dorofeyev and Ben Hutton into the lineup, while sitting ineffective Keegan Kolesar and Zach Whitecloud. We talk about what changes we can foresee in the upcoming elimination game. And, we discuss what a loss in Game 6 will mean for VGK.

VGK plays in its biggest game of the postseason so far, as the Golden Knights will attempt to break a 2-2 series tie with a win in Dallas tonight.  Each team has won on the road in this series and the Golden Knights are hoping to continue that trend and go up 3-2 in the series.  According to Bruce Cassidy, VGK has to clean up a lot of self-inflicted mistakes, mostly penalties and turnovers.  VGK needs to get some scoring punch, especially from its middle six. Monday, Cassidy inserted Michael Amadio into the lineup for the first time and he scored a goal and played well vs Dallas in the loss. We could see Pavel Dorofeyev draw into the lineup after Cassidy aluded to making a lineup change yesterday.  We talked about VGK losing in the faceoff area also.  And we have our locks and predictions for pivitol Game 5. 

The away team has won every game so far in the opening round series between Dallas and Las Vegas. The Stars were two 0-2 in the series before winning both games at the Fortress. Dallas was the best road team in the NHL this season and they played like it over the past six periods. Jack Eichel scored his third goal of the series and Michael Amadio, who drew in for an ineffective Anthony Mantha scored his first postseason goal. Each VGK goals coming on rebounds. The Stars scored on the power play as Wyatt Johnston scored his third goal of the series. Two odd angle shots really did in VGK. The Stars scored twice on shots from the goal line. We feel Dallas has been the better team so far in the series. Chris pointed out that Dallas has had a 68-36 advantage in high danger shots the past two games. We also discuss how VGK can regain momentum in the series.

Bruce Cassidy will try to counter Pete DeBoer's adjustments in what has become a chess match between the two coaches. DeBoer's team broke out faster from the goal line to the neutral zone which created odd-man rushes in bunches in Game 3. The Golden Knights lead the best-of-seven series 2-1, but the Stars have to be confident after taking the third game on the road. Dallas was the best road team in the NHL during the regular season. VGK didn't respond well to Cassidy's coaching on Saturday. Cassidy gave the team off Sunday because he said they were tired. Bruce Cassidy also admitted that Tomas Hertl has been moved to lineup on a wing with William Karlsson because he wants Hertl to take faceoffs. This could mean Karlsson, who missed two practices, has an injury of some sort. We also have our Game 4 Locks and Predictions.

The Dallas Stars got back into the series with an OT victory at the Fortress last night, 3-2. VGK got off to a slow start and didn't recover. Dallas cuts the series lead to 2-1 with Game 4 Monday at T-Mobile Arena. If not for Logan Thompson's heroics, with 43 saves, the Golden Knights could have been embarrassed on home ice. Dallas led 2-0 but goals by Brayden McNabb and Jack Eichel, on a shorthanded goal, forced overtime. Wyatt Johnston scored twice for the Stars, who owned the best road record in the regular season. We credit Pete DeBoer for making adjustments and forcing VGK to the perimeter for most of the game. And we discuss the concern level heading into Game 4 on Monday night.

The Golden Knights return home to the Fortress on Saturday night looking to add to their 2-0 series advantage vs the Stars. We will see a desperate Dallas team that Pete DeBoer said will have extra juice with its "season on the line." Dallas held the league's best road record at 26-10-5 and more than half of their points came away from home. Dallas averaged about four goals a game on the road this season. Dallas said it will simplify its game. They might have to do it without two key cogs - Mason Marchment and Radek Faksa both left Game 2 with injuries. Nic Hague still could be missing from VGK's lineup. We talked about Pete DeBoer looking defeated at his latest presser. And we read your comments for WTF - What The Friday.

The Golden Knights are returning home with a 2-0 series advantage after playing stifling defense in Wednesday's 3-1 road win over the Dallas Stars. The series shifts to Las Vegas Saturday for Game 3. VGK withstood an early push by Dallas and trained 1-0 on a Stars power play goal by Jason Robertson. But Jonathan Marchessault tallied the equalizer in the first to tie the score at 1-1. Noah Hanifin scored the game winner in the slot. And, Jack Eichel added the finishing touch with an empty net goal. The VGK defense held Dallas without a shot for about the final six minutes of the game. It was another heavy game with 108 total hits, 55 for VGK. Keegan Kolesar had nine hits in the contest. We talk about VGK playing close to a 60-minute game and are they peaking at the right time? We also grade Logan Thompson's performance and Zach Whitecloud with another rough outing for VGK.

VGK is looking to extend its series lead to two games to none in the opening series vs Dallas having already taken home ice advantage away from the Stars. The Golden Knights held on to a 4-3 win in the opener. Bruce Casidy wants the Golden Knights to continue to play physical hockey. They more than doubled the amount of hits on Dallas on Monday night. We also will see how Mark Stone responds in Game 2 after playing in his first contest since Feb. 20. VGK scored twice on the power play unit Monday, so they will try to win the special teams phase again. Cassidy said his team will need to generate more chances to win Game 2. They only had 15 shots on net Monday. The only injury for the Golden Knights was Nic Hague, who left the ice with eight minutes remaining in the game. We will see if he is able to go tonight. And, we have our locks and predictions for Game 2.

The Golden Knights now have home ice advantage in their opening round series vs the Dallas Stars by virtue of Monday's 4-3 win on the road. VGK won with netfront presence and by scoring twice on the power play. The debut performance by Mark Stone and Tomas Hertl on the same line was a successful one. Stone returned to the ice for the first time since Feb 20 and he not only scored a goal at 1:23 into the game, but it was his only shot of the contest. He scored his goal with Hertl in front of the net. Hertl also scored a goal after he won his faceoff and dove to the net to pot his first VGK playoff goal. A third goal was scored by Brayden McNabb with Ivan Barbeshev setting up shop in front of Jake Ottinger. Dallas fans booed Stone every time he touched the puck and even booed him during an intermission television interview. Stone logged 17:09 of ice time in his first game back. We graded Logan Thompson's performance and discussed if he will be in net in Wednesday's Game 2.

The Golden Knights begin their defense of the Cup title tonight in Dallas against the Stars. VGK should be back at full strength with Mark Stone, William Carrier, Alex Pietrangelo and others all expected to start tonight. We talk about Kelly McCrimmon's Saturday press conference which outlined the returns of key players, especially Stone. We questioned the line combinations for tonight's opener. Why no Dorofeyev in the lineup? No Martinez? No Hutton? And we have our locks of Game 1 and the series.

Our Chris Gawlik and Joey Erickson of Locked On Stars preview the VGK-Dallas series, which starts Monday.

The Golden Knights will be facing off against the Dallas Stars in the opening round of the playoffs beginning Monday night on the road. VGK limped into the playoffs and comes in as the eight seed. The Golden Knights lost in a lackluster game to the Anaheim Ducks Thursday, 4-1. Jack Eichel scored the only goal for VGK. The Golden Knights have now lost three straight to the cellar-dwelling Ducks. The Ducks Frankie Vatrano scored a hat trick in the game. We have a first look at the VGK-Stars series. And, it's that time of week - it's What The Friday?!?

The Golden Knights are looking to close out the regular season on a high note. VGK hosts the Anaheim Ducks and will look to reach the 100 point milestone in an up-and-down season. A win will also move VGK up in the standings to WC1 with a win over Nashville, and would put the Golden Knights into a first-round matchup vs the Edmonton Oilers. The Ducks have gone to the youth movement and tonight will feature the debut of rookie Cutter Gauthier, who led the NCAA in goals scored this past season with 38. He will be on a line with Leo Carlsson and Alex Killorn. We also discuss the (never-ending) goalie situation. Bruce Cassidy had previously seemed to dislike a goalie rotation in the playoffs. Now he's talking about playing both Hill and Thompson in the playoffs. He talked about each goalies strengths heading into the playoffs. We have our Locks and Predictions for tonight's game as well.

The Golden Knights set the tone in the second period when they became a more physical team vs Chicago last night. It started with a Zach Whitecloud hit on rookie Frank Nazar. Then Nic Hague laid a big hit on Connor Bedard. Bruce Cassidy put together a heavy line that included Tomas Hertl and Ivan Barbeshev. They set a massive screen in front of Petr Mrazic and Brayden McNabb cleaned up a rebound on a spinarama to score the goal. VGK will be difficult to beat if they can establish that same netfront presence in the playoffs. The Golden Knights, with the win, moved up to third place in the Pacific Division. They lead the L.A. Kings by one point. Each team has a game to go. VGK will face either Edmonton or Dallas in all liklihood. Bruce Cassidy experimented with a lot of different combinations in last night's game. And, we discuss the Pacific/West playoff races.

The Golden Knights will try to avoid a letdown against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight, a team that comes in with the worst road record in the NHL. We are interested to see who, if anyone, the Golden Knights will rest tonight. VGK enters the night a point behind the L.A. Kings, who lost at home to Minnesota last night. If the Golden Knights win out, they could potentially land in the first wild card spot. The VGK first round opponent still has not been settled. We have an update on the Western Conference and Pacific Division races. And, our Locks and Predictions for tonight's game are on tap.

Now that the Golden Knights have locked in Noah Hanifin's new contract extension for eight years at $7.35 AAV, how much would Jonathan Marchessault command on the open market? Marchessault is in the final year of his contract and has 67 points including 41 goals. You have to believe his minimum contract would be in the vicinity of $8 million a year. Marchessault is 33 years old. We preview this weekend's games against the Wild Friday and the Avs on Sunday. And, it's WTF - What The Friday time again.

Even without Connor McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers rolled past VGK on home ice Wednesday night 5-1. The Golden Knights loss coupled with a St. Louis Blues win leaves the Blues just three points away from VGK. VGK will play its four remaining games on home ice. Bruce Cassidy said that even if McDavid were playing in last night's game, he still wouldn't have expected the result with the Golden Knights on the losing end. Chandler Stephenson missed the game, as his wife is expecting. We talk about growing concern not only to make the playoffs for the defending Stanley Cup champs, but how long this team would last in the post-season due to lackluster play. And, we discuss the potential move of the Coyotes to Salt Lake. That could happen within the next week.

Connor McDavid is listed as day-to-day for the Oilers tonight in an important clash for VGK in the playoff chase. McDavid, who is third in the league with 130 points, missed practice twice this week after taking a hit from Blake Coleman of the Flames on Saturday. The Golden Knights still have plenty of other Oilers players that need to be marked in the contest. VGK is five points ahead of St. Louis and VGK still trails the Kings by a point, after Los Angeles lost at Anaheim Tuesday night. Bruce Cassidy said his team's attention to details has been slipping the past two games. The Golden Knights look to get back on track tonight. We look at the current standings and the battle for WC1. And, we have our Locks and Predictions for tonight's game.

The Golden Knights blew their second two-goal lead in as many games, as the dropped a 4-3 decision to the Canucks in Vancouver Tuesday night. It was the first win ever for Vancouver over VGK at the Roger Center. It also assured the Canucks of home ice in the first round of the playoffs. Jack Eichel scored twice on the Golden Knight's first two shots of the game, but VGK allowed Vancouver to respond. Noah Hanifin had the other VGK goal. The Golden Knights scored two power play goals, but they also allowed two on the man advantage to Vancouver. Arturs Silovs (3-0) outbattled Logan Thompson. The Golden Knights were outmuscled in the blue paint. On the upside, VGK did not allow any third period goals - so that's a step in the right direction. Last night was Tomas Hertl's first game as a Golden Knight. He had an assist and played a lot of minutes on special teams. Hertl also won 67% of his faceoff battles. To get Hertl into the lineup, VGK put Will Carrier on LTIR and send Brendon Brisson to the minors. We should see Adin Hill's return to the lineup Wednesday. He has been out since March 23rd. Logan Thompson hit a rough patch the last two games, and VGK should welcome Hill back in Edmonton Wednesday night.

The Golden Knights suffered one of the worst regular season losses in team history Friday night in Tempe. VGK had a four-goal outburst in the second period and led 4-1 after 40 minutes. But as we have seen too often this season, no VGK lead is safe. And in the third period, we saw the Yotes reel off six consecutive goals. Arizona beat Vegas 7-4. The Golden Knights appeared as though they felt they could defeat Arizona easily, and it appeared to be that way after two periods. The Coyotes scored three goals in a span of 1:07 in the third. Chris give us a recap of what it was like inside the "party barn." And, we preview tonight's VGK road game in Vancouver. The Golden Knights will look to regain third place in the Pacific. We should see the debut of Tomas Hertl tonight. He will be playing on the wing on the second line. Alex Pietrangelo will miss another game due to illness. Nic Roy is out. Adin Hill will travel with the team, but Cassidy said he probably won't play in Vancouver. Could Hill be forced into action if Logan Thompson, who had to be helped off the ice at City National Sunday, cannot go.

Bruce Cassidy is telling the Golden Knights to "handle business" against the Arizona Coyotes in Tempe tonight. The Coyotes could still be a dangerous team even though their season is basically over as they are 20 points out of a playoff spot. Arizona has a winning record (20-19) at Mullett Arena on the ASU campus. Cassidy said we will not see Tomas Hertl tonight in his debut. Many believe it could be due to cap restrictions even though Hertl is said to be medically cleared. Nic Roy was injured on the Vqncouver game and will miss the short trip. Brendan Brisson was activated for tonight's game. The Coyotes were sellers at the trade deadline, so they are going with the youth movement to wind up the season. We talk about Jack Eichel blowing tires and we have our WTF comments from viewers and listeners.

Topping our list of unsung heroes this season for the Golden Knights, is defenseman Brayden McNabb. Not only has he played in every game, he already has a career high of 24 points. He's plus-18 on the season and plus-116 for his career. Michael Amadio is also on our list. We talk about the impact of trade deadline acquisitions Noah Hanifin and Anthony Mantha. They have combined for 14 points in the 13 games since they hit the ice for VGK. We also discuss the Pacific Division race as it comes down to the wire.

One of the trademarks of the Golden Knights since inception has been its ability to respond after an opponent scores a goal. In Tuesday's win over the first-place Vancouver Canucks, the Golden Knights had two quick responses everytime the Canucks rallied to get back in the game.After a Nils Hoglander goal cut the Vancouver deficit to 2-1, Jack Eichel tallied his 27th goal some 20-second later. Then Brett Howden put the game away for good. Quinn Hughes scored to rally the Canucks to down two goals again in the third period. Brett Howden countered to make it a 6-3 VGK advantage. We talk about the return of Tomas Hertl and where he will fit in. And, we look at the Pacific Division and Western Conference race as VGK continues its heater.

The Golden Knights return home following a successful four-game road swing tonight as they face the division-leading Vancouver Canucks. Both teams have eight games remaining. VGK looks to close the gap on the Canucks, who lead the Pacific by ten points, and the Edmonton Oilers, who lead VGK by five points. Suddenly, the Golden Knights have 90 points. VGK lost the last meeting against Vancouver 3-1 on home ice. VGK had a difficult time breaking out of the neutral zone in that game. We will see if the Golden Knights have improved since the last meeting when they take the ice this evening at the Fortress. The Canucks are without starting goaltender Thatcher Demko, who has 34 wins on the season. We will probably see Casey DeSmith in net for the Canucks tonight. VGK saw new acquisition Tomas Hertl make his debut on the ice at practice yesterday, albeit in a non-contact jersey. We talk about "The Spirit Of The (Salary) Cap" and we have our Locks and Predictions for tonight's battle.

Jonathan Marchessault potted his 40th goal of the season on an empty netter in overtime Saturday, as VGK defeated the Minnesota Wild 2-1. The win wrapped up a successful road trip in which the Golden Knights took home seven of eight points. For a second time in three weeks, the Wild pulled its goalie in overtime to add an extra attacker. The first time, on March 10, it worked against Nashville. On Saturday, the tactic failed and pretty much knocked the Wild out of playoff contention, because they didn't even get a point out of the OT loss. Jack Eichel received a game misconduct for spearing the Wild's Kirill Kaprizov in retaliation to a trip that wasn't called. Michael Amadio of VGK knotted the score at 1-1 with over 6-minutes remaining to force OT. We also talk about the current goaltending situation as Adin Hill could return to the lineup this week. And Tomas Hertl could see his first action in a Golden Knights uniform as well over the next 2-3 games. Plus, we talk about Bruce Cassidy making all the right moves.

Following Thursday's 4-1 on the road at Winnipeg, VGK head coach Bruce said the two teams have started to develop "mutual hatred" between each other. Some of that hatred might have spilled over when Keegan Kolesar took exception to hit on Michael Amadio by Logan Stanley, and those two had a fight just three minutes into the contest. The turning point of the game, however, was when a Nic Hague game misconduct was reduced from a major to a minor penalty on a hit on Vladislov Namestikov. It pretty much took the wind out of the sails of the Winnipeg Jets. VGK then scored three straight goals. They swept the season series vs the Jets for a second season in a row. We preview Saturday's VGK-Wild game and we have our WTF segment - What the Friday..

Is VGK still lacking urgency with just 10 games remaining in the season? Even Bruce Cassidy has pointed to some of the issues saying the team has not played well enough to win or after the Columbus game he said VGK "doesn't want it." They are leading in the playoff chase by six points, the equivalent of a three-game lead and should be able to get into the playoffs. With a last-minute push, however, VGK could move up in the standings. We preview tonight's Winnipeg-VGK game. The Jets have woes of their own with a 4-game losing streak heading into tonight's game. Head Coach Rick Bowness says his team is getting complacent and he hopes the Jets get back on track at home tonight. We also have locks and predictions for tonight's game.

The Golden Knights were luck to salvage a point in Nashville Tuesday night. They had a 4-1 lead heading into the third period, but the red-hot Predators tied it a 4-4 and won it in overtime. VGK has now allowed 36 third period goals since Feb 1. They keep collapsing in the final period. Roman Josi scored the overtime winner for the Preds, who have the streak alive with points in 18 consecutive games. Barbeshev, Howden, Theodore and Karlsson scored for VGK in the loss. VGK was in the back end of the back-to-back. What talk about what led to the collapse Wednesday. And, we discuss who fans would sign Marchessault or Hanifin to an extension.

Logan Thompson stopped a penalty shot in O.T. and Jonathan Marchessault responded :19 later as the Golden Knights earned two points in a 3-2 win over St. Louis. Thompson stopped Pavel Buchnevich on the penalty shot after Noah Hanifin was called on a tripping call. VGK almost let the game slip away after playing two solid periods. The Blues had a strong push in the final period. There were a lot of posts hit in last night's game. Tonight VGK plays in Nashville on the tail end of the back-to-back. The Preds have been on a tear since they had an outing to a U2 concert at the Sphere canceled by management. The Predators have since gone on a 15-0-2 run and have points in 17 straight games We will see if Jiri Patera or Thompson start in net tonight for VGK. We have our Locks and Predictions too on today's episode.

It appears VGK will be without goaltender Adin Hill as an important road swing begins tonight in St. Louis. Hill made a left pad save in Saturday's win over Columbus and quickly went to the VGK bench and pulled himself out of the game. This means VGK will enter the crucial week with Logan Thompson, who has been inconsistent, and Jiri Patera, who hasn't had a lot of NHL starts. The good news for VGK is Jack Eichel is starting to heat up. He had two goals in Saturday's game including one on the power play, which has been struggling of late. St. Louis has won 6 of 7 and two in a row and has drawn within four points of the Golden Knights. We have our locks and predictions for tonight's game.

Another late surge for VGK helped the Golden Knights to defeat the Kraken for a second time this month 3-1. Keegan Kolesar broke a 1-1 tie with the game-winner with just 1:20 remaining in regulation. The goal was reviewed for potential offsides but it stood. Logan Thompson stopped 21 of 22 shots. We have a preview of VGK-Columbus and we have our WTF comments.

Eleven points outside of the playoff line, are the visiting Seattle Kraken looking towards the future? We will find out if the Kraken have anything left in the tank tonight. Seattle has dropped five straight, including the loss to VGK that could have been the dagger in Seattle's playoff hopes. VGK hopes to clean up its game. Logan Thompson will start in net for the Golden Knights tonight. Bruce Cassidy has said this week that his team is getting further away from poor pockets of hockey and better at getting back to their game.

Adin Hill gave up two cheap goals in VGK's loss to the Lightning 5-3 at the Fortress last night. Hill gave up one goal that went off his shoulder. Another he was out of position and the puck went under his skate. Casssidy afterward said "the fourth goal speaks for itself." He said Sean Burke works on the goalies technique and he schedules starts around Burke's recommendations. The team still needs to cleanup a lot of areas. They gave up four goals on just 20 shots on goal Tuesday night. VGK is still losing puck battles. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was out of the lineup due to illness Tuesday night. VGK defenseman Shea Theodore has been tallying points of late, but he's played a poor defensive game for VGK as we illustrate on today's show.

Bruce Cassidy sat veteran defensemen Nic Hague and Zach Whitecloud Sunday. You have to wonder if it will have an adverse effect on the Golden Knights in the locker room. Was it a temporary move, or is Cassidy sending a message to the two players. Granted he replaced them with Alec Martinez and Ben Hutton, but the message was sent loud and clear as Cassidy replaced two players that have been in the starting lineup for more than 50 games apiece. Cassidy benched Phil Kessel last year and in Boston, his benching of Jake DeBrusk, led to DeBrusk's agent going public with trade demands. VGK plays host to the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight. Tampa has won three straight and has a lot of firepower in its lineup. Nikita Kucherov has 114 points in 66 games. And, the Bolts come off a win over the hot Florida Panthers. We have our Locks of the Knight and predictions for this contest and more!

Bruce Cassidy benched two defensive players Sunday in the Golden Knights 3-1 win over the visiting New Jersey Devils. Cassidy sat starting blueliners Zach Whitecloud and Nic Hague in favor of Alec Martinez, back off injury, and Ben Hutton. The move had to send shockwaves through the VGK locker room. Cassidy is making the team battle for playing time. He said players have to play well when they get a chance. He added, "it sucks for guys that aren't in the lineup." Jack Eichel played a solid game on both ends of the ice. He had eight shots on goal against Jake Allen including one on a breakaway and the game-winner in the third period. New acquisition Noah Hanifin had two assists. And, William Karlsson, who was stopped twice on breakaways, added an empty netter. William Carrier, in his second game back, added a goal off a deflection that hit his chest. We also talk about a goalie competition, as Logan Thompson played in net for the first time in 15 days on Sunday.

VGK had another third period meltdown Thursday night. This time is was a four-goal third period by the Calgary Flames in the latest Golden Knights loss 4-1. This was a Calgary team that gave up 18 goals during a three-game losing streak coming into the game. VGK has been giving up third period goals in bunches in the third period of late, especially to non-playoff teams. Again the Golden Knights were plagued by poor defense and shotty goaltending. VGK heads into the weekend with a four point lead over Minnesota for the final playoff spot. We preview VGK vs New Jersey in the Sunday, St. Pat's Matinee. And, it's time for another edition of WTF - What The Friday.

The Golden Knights will face a reeling Calgary Flames team Thursday night on the road. The Flames have dropped three straight games and have give up 18 goals during the losing streak.  The Flames are going through a roster deconstruction and they have traded away two blueline stalwarts, one is Noah Hanifin who was dealt to VGK.  The other Chris Tanev - who was traded to Dallas. The Flames also played 11-7 structure in their last game vs. Colorado, due to forward injuries.  VGK will see former teammates Brayden Pachal and Danil Miromanov, who now play for the Flames.  Calgary gave up five goals in the second period to the Avs on Tuesday.  William Carrier is also expected back for the Golden Knights on Thursday.  He has been out since an upper body injury in January.  We discuss who will get bumped from the lineup if Carrier returns in Calgary.  And, we have our Locks of the Knight and predictions. 

Jack Eichel's overtime goal completed VGK's comeback Tuesday night in Seattle in a 5-4 win. The Golden Knights trailed by two goals with about 8 1/2 to go in the game before William Karlsson bought VGK to within one goal. The stage was set for Jonathan Marchessault to score his 37th goal with 16.3 remaining in the game to force the extra period. Eichel scored on the breakaway in OT and VGK earned two big points with the rally. It was just the second 6-on-5 goal for VGK at the end of regulation. The other was against Ottawa by Chandler Stephenson. VGK allowed a three-goal period after leading 2-1 heading into the third period. Marchessault has scored five goals in two games for VGK. We also ask if VGK's win is Fools Gold or if they are back. And, we wonder about how many starts Logan Thompson will make down the stretch for VGK. He has not played in eleven days.

Appearing on the Jeff Marek Show in Canada on Monday, VGK General Manager Kelly McCrimmon defended the team against criticism the Golden Knights have exploited the Long Term Injured Reserve system. He said the insinuation that these aren't significant are ridiculous. He said the NHL polices the rules and the league watches very carefully. The Golden Knights resume play Tuesday night in Seattle against the "stingy" Kraken. Over the past 34 games, Seattle has just allowed 2.26 goals a game, which is fourth in the league during that span. The teams split the first two meetings, with each club winning in their home cities. Seattle trails the Golden Knights by eight points so this is a four-point divisional game. Seattle has a game in hand. We also have our Locks of the Knight and predictions for Tuesday's game in Seattle.

Jonathan Marchessault's third hat trick of the season led VGK to a 5-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night and broke a four-game losing streak for the Golden Knights. Marchessault potted the game winner at 17:16 of the third period. The Golden Knights saw Detroit come back to tie the score twice in the contest. VGK had the early jump they were looking for as they scored the first two goals of the game. But Detroit kept battling back. The Golden Knights should have put the game away sooner. They dominated in shots on goal and time of possession in the O-Zone. Marchessault said on the team's broadcast afterward that the Golden Knights "have to stop being so sensitive." We also have injury updates and ask are all the VGK problems solved?

The Vegas Golden Knights just keep on doing it, as they've acquired Tomas Hertl and two third-round picks from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a first-round pick and center prospect David Edstrom. Chris Gawlik of Locked On Golden Knights joins Gil Martin of Locked On NHL to react to the move from the VGK perspective, talk about Hertl fits into the mix in Vegas, and just how the Knights front office keeps big game hunting so successfully. 

Even with the addition of Noah Hanifan and Anthony Mantha, we saw the same VGK result as the previous three games, a Golden Knights loss. Although it was the debut of the two players, VGK still got off to a slow start in falling to the Canucks 3-1 at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights trailed 2-0 in the early stages of the game and never recovered. It was a night i which the Golden Knights could barely get through the neutral zone. Michael Amadio scored the only VGK goal. The Detroit Red Wings come into town on Saturday. VGK hoeps to also break a five-game losing skid against the Wings. Detroit is playing minus its leading scorer Dylan Larkin. And we have our WTF comments for the week.

The Vegas Golden Knights have done it again, swooping in before the NHL Trade Deadline to land Noah Hanifin, the best defenseman on the market, from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 1st-round pick, a 3rd-round pick and defensive prospect Daniil Miromanov. Chris Gawlik of Locked On Golden Knights joins Gil Martin of Locked On NHL to react to the trade from the VGK perspective, marvel of GM Kelly McCrimmon pulling off another major move, discuss what it means for the future of fan favourite defender Alec Martinez, and discuss what else the Knights might have planned after also picking up Anthony Mantha to help fill in for the injured Mark Stone earlier this week.

It appears VGK General Manager Kelly McCrimmon might have fleeced another team before the trade deadline. VGK traded for Calgary defenseman Noah Hanifin Wednesday. The star defenseman is having a career season with 11 goals and 35 points already. He averages about 24 minutes on the ice per game. Hanifin spent six seasons with the Flames. VGK traded away Danil Miromanov and draft picks. Just like the deal that landed Anthony Mantha in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Calgary is paying half of Hanifin's salary. We believe Kelly McCrimmon isn't done making deals with a couple of days to go. Thursday night, VGK will host division-leading Vancouver The Golden Knights have a lot of ground to make up in the Pacific Division. They trail the Canucks by 14 points and have sunk into the eighth and final playoff spot in the west. Vancouver is 11-6 against the Pacific Division.

Last month the Washington Post's Bailey Johnson reported VGK had scouts at five consecutive Capitals games. On Tuesday, VGK traded for the Caps winger Anthony Mantha as a result of the scouting work. Manthan is a big body 6-4, 234, who will slot in as a right winger immediately. He has 20 goals in 56 games and is hoping to break his career-best goal record of 26. VGK gave up a second round pick this year and a 4th rounder in 2026. Only $2.85 million counts against VGK's cap, as Washington retained half of Mantha's salary in the deal. Mantha becomes a free agent after this season. So the Golden Knights have $4.4-million in cap space remaining to make at least one more deal before Friday's trade deadline. We also discuss whether the addition of Mantha helps the team's morale. Mantha is a big body that can win puck battles, which VGK is lacking at the moment.