Lawless And Order: February 17 Edition

Health. It's the new NHL trade deadline buzzword and it's quite applicable in Vegas.
Golden Knights GM George McPhee got a boost to his lineup earlier this week when Tomas Nosek returned. And with defensemen Luca Sbisa and Jon Merrill cleared to play and Will Carrier not too far off - McPhee and head coach Gerard Gallant are about to have lots of options and decisions where their lineup is concerned.
Nosek's return gave the Golden Knights an injection of size, speed and smarts. He works very well with center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare both in five-on-five and penalty killing situations. They have developed ESP type chemistry. Ryan Carpenter has found a nice spot on the other wing of this line and has four goals in his last six games.
Gallant has had the luxury of using his fourth line as much as 13 minutes per game of late which coupled with the offensive production - they've chipped in five goals in the last six games - is a huge advantage for the coach.
When Carrier gets healthy - Vegas will have options. Carrier works well with Bellemare and likes to bang on the forecheck. He's a useful player.

Without further delay, here is the latest installment of our semi-regular trip around the VGK globe.
1. Nosek was brought along in a slow-cook development environment with the Detroit Red Wings spending most of the last three seasons with Grand Rapids in the AHL. His development seemed to peak last spring in the Calder Cup playoffs as he picked up 19 points in 21 playoff games. The Griffins won the Calder Cup and Nosek was in the MVP conversation. He's earned full-time work in the NHL with Vegas and been an effective fourth line player. The next question to be answered is whether Nosek, who has four goals and five assists in 43 games this season, can produce more offence if paired with higher skilled players.
2. McPhee grabbed Carpenter off the waiver wire in an insurance move earlier this season when he had a few forwards injured creating roster space at the NHL level. He was a free player and someone VGK scouts had liked at the AHL level where he had compiled 44 goals and 130 points in 206 games. He's a smart player who knows where he's supposed to be positionally and he is willing to go to the net. He's given Vegas depth in the bottom six and been a good player in the dressing room. Carpenter is McPhee's second waiver wire hit this season along with goalie Malcolm Subban.

3. When a player signs a long-term contract there is often a sag in his play. It's only natural that the hunger which got a player to the point where a team is willing to make a commitment gets sated with the arrival of financial security. Not the case with Jonathan Marchessault. Marchessault has 18 points in 20 games since signing a six-year contract with $30 million. His drive hasn't been diminished.
   4. David Perron is on a hot streak putting up 19 points in his last 14 games.
   5. Vegas has four players with 20 goals or more. Karlsson, Marchessault, James Neal and Erik Haula have all scored at least 20. Reilly Smith has 17 goals and Perron has 14. Smith will likely hit 20 and Perron has a shot at the mark as well. This used to be a regular occurrence back in the 80s and 90s when eight goals per game was the average. But in today's dead puck era where five goals per game is the average - it's more rare.

6. Marc-Andre Fleury was brilliant in Thursday's win over Edmonton raising his save percentage to .933 for the season. Fleury is on pace for the best regular season of his career. His previous save percentage high was .921 which he hit twice.
   7. William Karlsson scored his 30th goal of the season on Thursday night. Wild Bill now has 50 points on the season and 100 in his career. Half of his career points in one season and the other half spread out over parts of four seasons in Columbus and Anaheim. Opportunity is Karlsson's friend. But with success comes expectations.

"He better score 40, the way he's playing, smiled Gallant, following Thursday's win over the Oilers.
Indeed, with 25 games to go on the schedule - 40 isn't an impossible target for Karlsson.
8. Karlsson's 30th goal put all of his abilities on display in one swoop down the ice. Speed, power and finesse all in one goal. He gets the puck just outside the blueline and uses his speed and power to get past Oilers Darnell Nurse while cutting to the net where he eventually is able to finish the play beating Cam Talbot.
9. Gallant has done a lot of things right this year but maybe the most impressive achievement has been his ability to keep his team in the moment. As a group of players, Vegas continues to focus on each game and not worry about the standings or the post-season. Nate Schmidt said the other day that Gallant keeps it fun and doesn't put his players in a frame of mind where they are afraid to make a mistake.
"I've been in places where it got real tight around the room," said Schmidt. "We don't have that. We take our responsibilities seriously and we have a commitment to winning. But we're relaxed at the same time and that makes for the best atmosphere. We're confident and comfortable. It's the most fun," said Schmidt