Pluses, minuses for Golden Knights-Capitals

Each Wednesday throughout the regular season, Kevin Weekes will be offering his pluses and minuses for the teams competing in the NBCSN Wednesday Night Hockey game in his Weekes on the Web blog. Weekes also will assist fans with three must-watch elements of the game.

The Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights didn't have to wait long for their rematch of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.
One week into the season they'll play each other for the first time since June 7 when Washington won Game 5, 4-3 at T-Mobile Arena to win the Cup.
The Golden Knights (1-2-0) look for some revenge when they visit the Capitals (1-0-1) at Capital One Arena on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN). Here's my breakdown of the game:

Golden Knights

Pluses: One key for them is that they are healthy. We know last season, injuries to goalies Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban forced them to use five different goalies and they still managed to win the division and advance to the Cup Final. If they can remain healthy this season, Vegas has a chance to repeat last season's success.
Forward Jonathan Marchessault (two goals, two assists) and center William Karlsson (two assists) have picked up where they left off last season. The Golden Knights only have five goals in three games and Marchessault and Karlsson are their only players with more than one point.
Last season, they started 3-0-0 and won eight of their first nine games, leading the division for almost the entire season, which was unprecedented for an expansion team. Beginning this season, 1-2-0 could be a good thing since they only had three three-game losing streaks last season and didn't have to do much scoreboard watching as the season went on.

Minuses: The absence of Nate Schmidt, who was suspended 20 games for violating terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program, is a huge blow. He set NHL career highs in goals (five), assists (31) and points (36) last season and led Vegas in ice time per game (22:14). Vegas has allowed 10 goals in three games and scored five, so Schmidt has been missed both defensively and offensively.
So far this season they've been sloppy, which they really weren't last season. They are 0-for-8 on the power play and 6-for-8 on the penalty kill. Paul Stastny took two bad penalties in a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, including a slash on Jack Eichel, who scored on the ensuing power play. Buffalo was much faster, more intense, worked harder, won puck races. Those were staples of the Golden Knights' game last season.
This year they aren't going to sneak up on anybody like they did last season. Now they have to be viewed as a threat every night and teams should give them their best.

Capitals

Pluses: They began the season with a 7-0 win against the Boston Bruins and followed that up with a 7-6 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins the next night, competing hard in each game. They're also well rested, having not played since Thursday.
So far under new coach Todd Reirden it looks like Washington has begun this season where it left off last season under Barry Trotz, who led them to the Stanley Cup, then took the coaching job with the New York Islanders. Assistant Lane Lambert and director of goaltending Mitch Korn also joined Trotz, leaving the Capitals with some new faces behind the bench.
Secondly, they began the season healthy. Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Braden Holtby, John Carlson and down the line, all of their big boys are healthy. Only depth forwards Michal Kempny (concussion) and Travis Boyd (lower body) are injured. The Capitals also retained almost the entirety of their roster from last season, so the chemistry should be evident.

Minuses: They are without Trotz and two important pieces from their championship team last year, center Jay Beagle and goalie Philipp Grubauer. If Holtby gets hurt, Pheonix Copley would be in line for playing time, and he has only appeared in two NHL games.
Missing Tom Wilson, who is suspended for 20 games for a hit in preseason, also affects their game. We saw what he did last season on the top line (NHL career-high 14 goals and 35 points) and in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (15 points in 21 games). He's also a big, physical presence (6-foot-4, 218 pounds) who finished fourth in the League last season with 250 hits and led the playoffs with 100 hits. There's no question the Capitals have a different game plan when Wilson is in the lineup as opposed to when he is out.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1.The intensity of the Golden Knights
2. Does Washington take advantage of Vegas' slow start this season?
3. How does Max Pacioretty (16 points in 28 career games) fare against an Eastern Conference team he knows well?