Golden Knights Takeaways: The Fortress Fuels VGK to Victory

The Vegas Golden Knights showed the Seattle Kraken what a proper NHL expansion team looked like on Tuesday night as they won 4-2. The Golden Knights got a powerplay goal, some nice production from some depth players, and two goals from defenseman, all in front of Jack Eichel and a home audience at the Fortress. You absolutely love to see it.

The Golden Knights continue to be ravaged with injuries but things are starting to get better for the team slowly but surely. Both Mark Stone and Nolan Patrick practiced Tuesday, and Eichel will have his surgery Friday.

But the framework of the team needs to be ready for when these players come back. The team cannot sink to the bottom of the Pacific Division Standings waiting for the arrival of their star players. Luckily for the Golden Knights, this framework showed up Tuesday night.

JACK EICHEL IN THE FORTRESS!!! #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/0vQrMsBod6

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) November 10, 2021

Golden Knights Takeaways vs Seattle Kraken

The Depth is Starting to Step Up

Paul Cotter made his NHL debut Tuesday night, and despite some nerves, did not fall in his pregame rookie lap. While he was not the most noticeable player on the ice by any means, the line of Cotter, Brett Howden, and Jonas Rondbjerg provided some good offensive pressure for the Golden Knights.

Depth scoring is something we have seen little of this season for the Golden Knights. Championship caliber teams need depth scoring to go far in the playoffs. While it may be too early to tell, Cotter has made a case for himself as a regular in the Golden Knights lineup. 

On top of this William Carrier had two assists on the night and Evgenii Dadonov scored.

The Offense from the Defense Continues

Again, with the Golden Knight’s injury concerns, they have had to look elsewhere to fill the scoring void that players like Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, and William Karlsson left. Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore have stepped up and are now on fire for the Golden Knights. 

After a rough start to the season, Pietrangelo now has five points in his last five games and is leading the Golden Knights both on and off the ice. Shea Theodore, who scored Tuesday is riding a three-game point streak. Both defenders have been crucial to the Golden Knights offense at both five-on-five and on the powerplay, which is slowly improving for the Golden Knights.

The Fortress is Rocking

I have been the beat writer for the Vegas Golden Knights for about a week now and have been covering the team remotely to start. Watching things like the pregame intro, the fan chants, and Jack Eichel pumping up the crowd gets me super excited to cover the Golden Knights live at T-Mobile Arena. 

It was clear that the Golden Knights fed off of that energy tonight and used it to fuel their victory after coming off of a four-game road trip.

I am sure many of you have your own stories and memories with T-Mobile Arena and I cannot wait to attend my first Golden Knights game there soon. The atmosphere is unmatched.