Morning Skate Report: Jan. 6, 2024

The Vegas Golden Knights (22-12-5) host the New York Islanders (18-10-10) for the first time this season on Saturday at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: Vegas 34
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340 | Deportes Vegas 1460
Streaming: KnightTime+

NOTES
The Golden Knights face off against the Islanders for the first time this season. Vegas is 3-7-0 in its last 10, while New York is 4-3-3.

VGK MILESTONE WATCH
Brayden McNabb - one point away from 100 as a Golden Knight
William Carrier - two points away from 100 as a Golden Knight

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
Zach Whitecloud - one point away from 50 career points
Jack Eichel - four goals away from 200 career goals
Brayden McNabb - three games away from 700 career games
Alex Pietrangelo - 14 games away from 1,000 career games

VGK SCORING LEADERS
Jack Eichel - 40 points (16G, 24A)
Mark Stone - 38 points (12G, 26A)
William Karlsson - 32 points (15G, 17A)
Jonathan Marchessault - 27 points (17G, 10A)
Ivan Barbashev - 19 points (9G, 10A)

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Knights fell to the Florida Panthers, 4-1, on Thursday evening at T-Mobile Arena. Pavel Dorofeyev was the lone goal scorer for Vegas. With the win, Florida completed the seasons sweep against Vegas with a 2-0-0 record.

2022-23 SEASON SERIES
Vegas went 0-1-1 against New York during the 2022-23 season. The first matchup on Dec. 17 saw a 5-2 Islanders victory. Reilly Smith scored both goals on the power play for Vegas; while Anders Lee, Hudson Fasching, Simon Holmstrom, Brock Nelson and Zach Parise all found the back of the net for the Islanders. The second and final meetup on Jan. 28 resulted in a 2-1 overtime win for New York. Lee and William Carrier scored in regulation, then Mathew Barzal scored the winner in the extra frame for the Islanders.

OPPOSITION UPDATE
The Islanders hold third place in the Metropolitan Division with 46 points. They are coming off a 5-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night. Barzal (10G, 29A), Bo Horvat (16G, 22A) and Noah Dobson (6G, 32A) are the team’s top points leaders.

A VEGAS VICTORY WOULD...
- Secure Vegas’ first win of 2024
- Mark the 290th win in franchise history
- Improve the Golden Knights' all-time record against the Islanders to 5-4-2

KEYS TO THE GAME
Special teams: The Golden Knights went 0/6 on the power play on Thursday night against the Panthers. They also allowed three power-play goals. Both the power play and penalty kill need improvements, especially with the amount of injuries Vegas has been dealt.

In sync: “We went back to a more basic practice about being connected all over the ice,” Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said after Friday’s practice. “The drills were a little more pedestrian… I think that is one of our problems, we’re not in sync on the ice.” Coach Cassidy believes being in sync as well as a sense of urgency will get half of the work done. Each line and pairing needs to find a connection with one another again, as well as play with more energy and fire. The Golden Knights knew they'd enter this season with targets on their backs as defending champions, so they have to start playing to combat opposing teams' hunger to beat them.