Golden Knights Who’s Hot/Not Index

Welcome to a new type of article here at Vegas Hockey Now. We're confident you have seen something like this before. Today we will take a look at some of the specific players on the Vegas Golden Knights and place them in either the "hot" or "not" categories based on their recent play.

As an overall team, the Golden Knights can safely be placed into the hot category themselves. Mistakes have been made, and the team is not playing perfect hockey, but they still have collected points in 14 of their last 17 games. 

As head coach Bruce Cassidy says, "You can't be upset with losses; it's too hard to win in this league."

HOT: Jack Eichel

Jack Eichel is on a tear. He has eight goals and eight assists in his last 13 games and has re-emerged as the leader of the team post-All-Star Break with Mark Stone out of the lineup. He's playing confidently with the puck, and his skating, speed, and shot have been on display in this last stretch of games.

The focus for Eichel right now can only be to continue his play without getting hurt and to carry it into the playoffs.

NOT: Chandler Stephenson

On the flip side, perhaps the Golden Knight's next-best forward, All-Star Chandler Stephenson, is struggling. He has three two points in the last ten games and just snapped a 12-game goal drought. He's still a vital part of the team's attack and powerplay, but the points have simply not been coming for him.

Much of it could be a result of his once-strong line of him, Phil Kessel, and Will Carrier both cooling down and then losing Carrier to injury. Bruce Cassidy switched up his lines Thursday and put Stephenson with William Karlsson and Reilly Smith. Perhaps this continues to get him scoring.

HOT: Adin Hill

Even with the recent news of another lower-body injury taking him out of the lineup again, Adin Hill's recent play deserves to be in the hot category. He started three important games for the VGK against the Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, and Florida Panthers. 

In all three games, he was excellent, making a combined 118 saves and giving up just seven goals for a .941 sv% in those three games.

NOT: William Karlsson

Like Stephenson, William Karlsson is still a critical part of the Golden Knights doing everything from killing penalties, to creating scoring chances off the rush. He also most recently broke a goal drought, this one being a 15-gamer against the Lightning. He now has a goal and two assists in his last nine games.

HOT: Shea Theodore

Offense from the blue line is something every good team needs, and Shea Theodore is providing just that. The blue-liner has 14 points in 14 games and has re-emerged after being injured for 15 straight games. 

His offense, and the fact that the VGK now have a full healthy unit of six defensemen, is a key reason why the team is winning so much lately.

NOT: Paul Cotter

Paul Cotter's recent slump cost him a spot in the team's lineup before Will Carrier subsequently got hurt, which brought him right back in. The rookie has struggled with consistency all season and has not scored in his last eight games. Ivan Barbashev has replaced him on the top line with Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault, and now Cotter finds himself shuffling through the lineup and being benched frequently.

HOT: Ivan Barbashev

Since being acquired from the St. Louis Blues, Ivan Barbashev has two goals and three assists for five points in six games as a Golden Knight. His ability to be a net-front presence is something that the VGK have lacked since Mark Stone went out with another back injury. If his chemistry with Jack Eichel continues to develop, the Golden Knights might have found a perfect complementary player that they could extend in the offseason.

NOT: Phil Kessel

The surprisingly successful line of Chandler Stephenson, Will Carrier, and Phil Kessel has had its production fade, and Carrier get injured. Now both Stephenson and Kessel find themselves on this list. Kessel has one assist in the last eleven games and is once again being benched alongside Brett Howden and Paul Cotter when the team finds themselves in tight games.