On Sunday night, the Vegas Golden Knights (17-13-5) and Vancouver Canucks (16-13-4) will be looking for a very important two points, while tightly matched in the Pacific Division standings. The Canucks have come as a bit of a surprise this season, while the Golden Knights have arguably underachieved, especially when considering their star-studded roster. Speaking of star-studded, there are a few players who are extremely important to the Golden Knights winning this matchup.
Alex Tuch:
Without his usual linemates, Tuch is extremely important to the Golden Knights. Both Cody Eakin and Cody Glass remain out with upper-body injuries, leaving Tuch with Valentin Zykov and Paul Stastny. Neither of those men are slouches, but Tuch has the most raw skill and upside and is integral to that line pushing play and providing needed depth.
If the young power forward can get this new-look third line humming, the Golden Knights will simply be too much for the Canucks. With a dynamic top-six, the third line has continually been a question mark that Tuch could turn into an exclamation point.
Deryk Engelland:
The veteran defenseman is certainly on his last legs as an NHL defenseman. While he is playing at an acceptable level for a bottom-pair defenseman, he has fallen victim to decreased foot speed and some costly mental lapses in his own end. He's known internally as a defense-first player and hot-shot penalty-killer, but he has been far from perfect in VGK territory. He has both good and bad stretches and his nightly performance is arguably the biggest variable for the Golden Knights. It will go a long way for the team if Engelland is able to keep up with the young, speedy Canucks forwards.
Reilly Smith:
When Smitty is buzzing, the Golden Knights seem to score a lot of goals. The versatile forward leads the team in goal scoring - with Max Pacioretty - and has been useful in many situations for the Golden Knights. Along with William Karlsson, he forms one of the most deadly penalty-killing duos in the entire NHL. It was incredibly shocking to hear him say that other teams didn't trust him on the penalty kill.
At 5-on-5, Smith can be rightfully labeled the catalyst for the first line. He is Head Coach Gerard Gallant's dream player. He's a guy who has top-end skill, but plays fast and never hesitates to get into the dirty areas. He's a jack of all trades and does the dirty work, opening up looks for Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault. He's not the flashiest player and can be forgotten about in the grand scheme of things, but he's one of the most important guys on this Golden Knights team.
Both teams in this matchup have top-end skill, a solid goaltending duo, and defense groups with the potential to be great. Elias Pettersson, Bo Horvat, and Brock Boeser need to be contained at all costs.
This game could go either way and the performance of the aforementioned players could be the deciding factor for these crucial two points. This will be the first head-to-head of four on the season, with the second coming on December 19, separated by one game against the Canadiens. The Pacific Division has been tight and surprising early on and every in-division game is of the utmost importance.
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