Morning Skate Report: Nov. 6, 2025

The Vegas Golden Knights (7-2-3) wrap up their season series against the Tampa Bay Lightning (6-5-2) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: Scripps Sports (The Spot-Vegas 34 in Vegas; full network)
Streaming: KnightTime+
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340 | Deportes Vegas 1460

NOTES
The Golden Knights will host their annual Canned Food Drive on Toshiba Plaza from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Fans can bring nonperishable food items to the food drive, presented by Nacho Daddy, and receive a specialty poster.

Akira Schmid recorded his first shutout as a Golden Knight on Tuesday against the Red Wings.

Colton Sissons played in his 700^th career NHL game on Tuesday night.

The Golden Knights have opened the scoring 336 times since the franchise’s inaugural season. The club is ranked fifth among all teams for the mark.

VGK MILESTONE WATCH
Reilly Smith – One point away from 300 points as a Golden Knight
Brayden McNabb – Four games away from 600 games as a Golden Knight
Brett Howden – Six points away from 100 points as a Golden Knight
Tomas Hertl – Nine games away from 100 games as a Golden Knight

CAREER MILESTONE WATCH
Ivan Barbashev – Three games away from 600 career games
Pavel Dorofeyev – Five points away from 100 career points
Colton Sissons – Five goals away from 100 career goals

VGK SCORING LEADERS
Jack Eichel – 19 points (8G, 11A)
Mitch Marner – 14 points (3G, 11A)
Mark Stone – 13 points (2G, 11A)
Tomas Hertl – 11 points (5G, 6A)
Ivan Barbashev – 11 points (4G, 7A)

BY THE NUMBERS
17 – Ivan Barbashev’s game-winning goal on Tuesday was the 17^th game-winning goal of the forward’s career.

62 – Tomas Hertl owns a team-high face-off win percentage of 62%.

.708 – The Golden Knights have posted a point percentage of .708 with a record of 7-2-3, the fourth best in the league.

PREGAME SOUND

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Knights blanked the Detroit Red Wings, 1-0, on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena for the club’s first shutout of the season. Ivan Barbashev tallied the game’s only goal with assists from Brandon Saad and Jeremy Lauzon. Akira Schmid earned his second career shutout in the regular season, turning aside all 24 shots.

SEASON SERIES
The Golden Knights faced off against the Lighting on Oct. 26, falling 2-1 in overtime at Benchmark International Arena. Brandon Hagel gave Tampa Bay an early 1-0 lead five minutes into the game, and William Karlsson evened the score with 1:35 remaining in the opening frame. Neither team scored in the final two periods, extending the game to overtime where Nikita Kucherov tallied the game-winner 32 seconds in. Carl Lindbom made his NHL debut in net and made 26 saves.

OPPOSITION UPDATE
The Tampa Bay Lightning own a record of 6-5-2 for 14 points and sit fifth in the Atlantic Division. Thursday’s matchup is the final game of a three-game road trip for the Lightning in which they defeated the Utah Mammoth, 4-2, on Sunday and fell to the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2, on Tuesday. The loss marked the end of a five-game win streak. Brayden Point made Tampa Bay history on Tuesday as he became the fifth player in Lightning history to record 200 career even-strength goals, and Nikita Kucherov also made history becoming the third Tampa Bay player in history to record 60 career game-opening goals. Jake Guentzel leads the Lightning with 12 points (5G, 7A) followed by Anthony Cirelli (7G, 4A) and Kucherov (5G, 6A) who each have 11 points (5G, 6A).

PACIFIC DIVISION STANDINGS
Anaheim Ducks – 8-3-1, 17 points
Vegas Golden Knights – 7-2-3, 17 points
Seattle Kraken – 6-3-4, 16 points
Los Angeles Kings – 6-4-4, 16 points
Edmonton Oilers – 6-5-4, 16 points
Vancouver Canucks – 7-8-0, 14 points
San Jose Sharks – 5-6-3, 13 points
Calgary Flames – 4-9-2, 10 points

A VEGAS VICTORY WOULD
- Mark the 369^th win in franchise history
- Give the Golden Knights a 9-6-1 record against Tampa Bay
- Give the Golden Knights a 5-1-1 record at home this season

KEYS TO THE GAME
Special Teams: The Golden Knights have killed off 18 of the last 20 penalties, a turnaround from the beginning of the season in which four power-play goals were allowed in the first five games. Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said that a good penalty kill can break the opposing team’s spirit and give the Golden Knights momentum to build on in.

Activating the Three Zones: Head Coach Bruce Cassidy says that there are three prongs of offense - the power play, the rush game, and o-zone game. If Vegas can find a way to be active in all areas, they will have success against teams who defend hard like Tampa.