William Karlsson's three points (1G, 2A) propelled the Vegas Golden Knights (3-4-0) to a 4-1 victory against the Buffalo Sabres (3-3-0) on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.

HOW IT WENT DOWN
The Golden Knights controlled the pace of play in the first period and skated to a 12-5 advantage in shots on net to open the game. With 1:01 to go in the first, Jonathan Marchessault finished off a passing play between Reilly Smith and Karlsson to put Vegas' first power-play goal of the season on the scoreboard. The Golden Knights took the 1-0 lead into the first intermission and built on that lead quickly in the third. Cody Eakin tallied his third goal of the season as he fired a wrist shot by Carter Hutton for a shorthanded strike. In the third, Karlsson netted his first goal of the season as he tipped in a Smith pass. Vladimir Sobotka foiled Marc-Andre Fleury's shutout bid in the final two minutes, but Marchessault knocked in an empty netter to cap the score at 4-1.

Consider this a public service announcement from your friendly hockey reporter. November 1 is approaching. It's just two weeks away. So, if it's your spouse's birthday, your anniversary or the day of your child's music recital - be warned. It's coming fast.

If you're a player in the NHL with aspirations of taking part in the playoffs, it's also time to get your game in gear.

And if you happen to be a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, the five-game homestand which begins tonight against the Buffalo Sabres comes at just the right time.

Vegas sits 2-4 this morning and on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture.

The Vegas Golden Knights return to T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday night as they wrap up their season series against the Buffalo Sabres at 7 p.m. PT. Fans can watch on AT&T SportsNet, or listen on FOX Sports 98.9/1340 and ESPN Deportes 1460.

NOTES
Tuesday's game will conclude the regular season series between the Golden Knights and Sabres.

The game marks Vegas' first home game since its home opener on Oct. 4. It also opens a five-game home stand at T-Mobile Arena.

Injuries: Coach Gerard Gallant said yesterday Alex Tuch is close to returning to the lineup, Deryk Engelland is day-to-day and Paul Stastny will miss up to two months.

VEGAS (October 15, 2018) - Vegas Golden Knights President Kerry Bubolz announced today, October 15, that the Golden Knights have partnered with Pogoseat, an enterprise solution for sports teams that enables their fans to purchase last minute tickets. The partnership will provide Golden Knights fans with a new and easy way to buy last minute tickets for VGK home games at T-Mobile Arena via text message.

In partnering with Pogoseat, the Golden Knights have the capability to sell tickets via text message. Fans can sign up to receive text-ticket offers by texting "KNIGHTS" to 48429 and will then receive text alerts when tickets become available for games. Fans can also sign up by visiting http://goldenknights.nhl.com/lastminutetickets. Purchasing a ticket via text is secure, fast and convenient -- once an offer is sent, fans can respond with the quantity of tickets they want and will receive seat options. Once they find the seats they want, they simply text "BUY" and the tickets are delivered to their Flash Seats account.

VEGAS (October 14, 2018) - Vegas Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee announced today, October 14, the following roster transaction: the team has recalled defenseman Jake Bischoff from the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves.

Bischoff, who has yet to make his NHL debut, was on the Golden Knights' opening-day roster. Last season with the Chicago Wolves he finished with 23 points (7 G, 16 A) to go with 34 penalty minutes in 69 games. He was a seventh-round draft choice (185th overall) during the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders and spent four seasons with the University of Minnesota (2013-17). Bischoff was acquired by the Golden Knights in an expansion draft related trade made with the Islanders.

The Vegas Golden Knights needed a win on Saturday. They also needed a hero. Marc-Andre Fleury gave them both.

Fleury stopped all 26 shots fired at him by the Philadelphia Flyers including a number of the highlight variety. Fleury's performance, which may have been his best in a Golden Knights uniform, coupled with a late Cody Eakin goal gave Vegas a 1-0 win against the Flyers and bumped the club's record to 2-4 on the season.

A lack of production to this point - just 10 goals though six games - has haunted the Golden Knights and placed mounting pressure on the team's goaltending duo of Fleury and Malcolm Subban.

The margin for error has been slim and on Saturday, if not for Fleury being perfect for all 60 minutes, the result may have been different.

Marc-Andre Fleury and the Vegas Golden Knights outdueled Brian Elliot and the Philadelphia Flyers as Vegas earned a 1-0 shutout victory at the Wells Fargo Center to end a five-game road trip.

HOW IT WENT DOWN
The Golden Knights killed off two penalties in a scoreless first period and the Flyers ended the first period with a 10-5 shots advantage. The second period saw each team record 10 shots, but Vegas went empty on two power-play chances and the third period began with a 0-0 score. The goaltending duel between Fleury and Elliot continued through the third period before Cody Eakin ripped a wrister into the net with 1:35 to play in the game. Fleury sparkled during the game to preserve the 1-0 victory.

TURNING POINT
Fleury and Elliot turned in fantastic efforts between the pipes, but in such a tight game, the deciding goal is always what matters most. With the game threatening to need overtime, Ryan Carpenter made a brilliant pass across the ice to Eakin who took his time settling the puck down and getting a shot off just before the defense could reach him. His shot blazed over the shoulder of Elliot and into the top-left corner and Vegas had all it needed to end it needed to snap a three-game losing skid.

In the final stop of their five-game road trip, the Vegas Golden Knights look to make up for their opening night loss against the Philadelphia Flyers at 10 a.m. PT Saturday at Wells Fargo Center.

NOTES
The Golden Knights won't hold morning skate ahead of the early afternoon game.

Vegas and Philadelphia conclude their two-game regular season series Saturday afternoon.

Wayne Simmonds scored twice for the Flyers on Oct. 4 to lift Philadelphia to a 5-2 win at T-Mobile Arena.

Last season, Ryan Carpenter scored with 2:40 to go in regulation to lift Vegas to a 3-2 win against the Flyers in the Golden Knights' only game at Wells Fargo Center to date.

Jonathan Marchessault added to his team lead in scoring with two assists Thursday in the 4-2 loss to Pittsburgh. He now has two goals and four assists in five contests.

Saturday's game marks the end of Vegas' longest road trip of the season (five games).

VEGAS (October 12, 2018) - Vegas Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee announced today, October 12, the following roster transactions: the team has assigned defenseman Jake Bischoff to the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves.

Bischoff, who has yet to appear in an NHL game, was on the team's opening-day roster. Last season with the Chicago Wolves he finished with 23 points (7 G, 16 A) to go with 34 penalty minutes in 69 games. He was a seventh-round draft choice (185th overall) during the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders and spent four seasons with the University of Minnesota (2013-17). Bischoff was acquired by the Golden Knights in an expansion draft related trade made with the Islanders.

Jake Bischoff, Defenseman
Birthplace: Cambridge, Minnesota
Height: 6'1''
Weight: 194 lbs.
Age: 24
Shoots: Left
Draft: Selected by the New York Islanders in the seventh round (185th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft
Notes:
-Recorded 23 points (7 G, 16 A) to go with 34 penalty minutes in 69 games with the AHL's Chicago Wolves during the 2017-18 season
-Played for the Minnesota Golden Gophers for four seasons, finishing with 68 points (17 G, 51 A) to go with 38 penalty minutes in 139 games
-Acquired by the Golden Knights in an expansion draft related trade made with the Islanders.

It would be inaccurate to say the Vegas Golden Knights are a shadow of themselves from a season ago. More like they're standing in the shadows and fighting to get back to the light.

They're the same team and maybe even better in terms of personnel. So why the different results?

Through five games of the regular season Vegas is 1-4 with a goal differential of minus nine. For comparison, Vegas finished last season with a goal differential of plus 44. It's one of the most comprehensive stats in hockey and points to whether a team is going to be successful in the win column: do they score more goals than they allow?

Lots of things factor into this statistic and in some ways goal differential is the symptom rather than the cause. For Vegas, early on, the causes are rooted in execution. The Golden Knights are sixth in the league in shot differential with a plus 9.8. They're outshooting their opponents which should translate to more scoring chances for and less scoring chances against. The next step in the equation should be more goals for and less goals against, which results in wins rather than losses.