Knights aim to continue historic start vs. Isles (Oct 30, 2017)
NEW YORK -- The Vegas Golden Knights are threatening to rewrite the template for successful expansion franchises authored four decades ago by the New York Islanders.
The most surprising story in hockey visits the East Coast for the first time Monday, when the surging Golden Knights begin a six-game road trip by visiting the Islanders at Barclays Center.
Both teams are coming off resounding victories. The Golden Knights (8-1-0) continued their historic start Friday by earning their fifth straight win with a 7-0 blanking of the Colorado Avalanche. The five-game winning streak ties the NHL record for a first-year club, set previously by the New York Rangers in 1926-27 and the Edmonton Oilers in 1979-80.
The Islanders (6-4-1) won for the fourth time in five games Saturday, when they cruised past the host Nashville Predators 6-3.
Only three teams have more wins this season than the Golden Knights, who are looking to become the first expansion team to reach the playoffs since 1967, when the Campbell Conference was comprised entirely of new franchises. Vegas already has as many wins as the Washington Capitals had in their first season in 1974-75.
Time to start wondering if the Golden Knights can win the Stanley Cup faster than the Philadelphia Flyers, who won it all in their seventh and eighth seasons, or the Islanders, who won the first of four straight Stanley Cups at the end of their eighth season? Not so fast.
"Obviously, it's fun to win games and have everyone contribute," Golden Knights center Oscar Lindberg told the Las Vegas Review-Journal following the Friday win. "But it's a long season, and we're not trying to get ahead of ourselves."
Still, the hot start may not be a mirage. While Vegas has benefited from playing seven of its first nine games at home, its goal differential (plus-15) is the second best in the NHL behind only the plus-18 of the Los Angeles Kings, who are three points ahead of the second-place Golden Knights in the Pacific Division.
"All the homestands, you want to take advantage of it, and we certainly did here," Dansk told the Review-Journal after collecting 32 saves in his first NHL shutout Friday. "We were feeding off the crowd, too. The crowd has been amazing. It's a lot of fun to play in this building, that's for sure."
The Islanders like playing at Barclays Center, especially when the visitors are from the Western Conference. New York is 23-4-4 against Western Conference foes since moving to Brooklyn prior to the 2015-16 season.
More important, Islanders center and captain John Tavares likes playing anywhere lately. Tavares notched a natural hat trick Saturday for his second three-goal game in the past three contests. He has seven goals and 10 points in the past four games after producing just two goals and three points in New York's first seven tilts.
"He's got the hot stick," Islanders right winger Jordan Eberle told Newsday following the Saturday win. "You want to keep him going when he's like this."
With the Knights' No. 1 goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, in Las Vegas recovering from a concussion sustained Oct. 13, and No. 2 goalie Malcolm Subban sidelined due to a lower-body injury, Dansk is expected to earn his third NHL start Monday.
The Islanders likely will counter with Jaroslav Halak, who recorded 28 saves Saturday. Halak and Thomas Greiss have split the starting duties almost evenly this season -- Halak has made one more start -- but Halak's 2.76 goals-against average is far better than Greiss' 3.91 GAA.
This will be the first time Dansk has opposed the Islanders and the first time Halak has faced the Golden Knights.
Golden Knights right winger James Neal, who leads the team with seven goals, is expected to play despite losing several teeth when he was hit in the face by a stick Friday. Neal didn't practice Sunday.
