Golden Knights Season Predictions: Milestones & Division Winners

The Golden Knights have just 15 regular season games to play in the 2024-25 season. They’re all but guaranteed to make the playoffs, but the remaining regular season still has meaning. The race for the Pacific Division title is setting up to be a photo finish, and Golden Knights players are flirting with hitting milestones and career highs.

So, I made some predictions for the rest of the season, including the Golden Knights players’ personal achievements and who will win the Pacific Division. Let’s see if any of these stick.

Jackpot! 

Jack Eichel, who was drafted second overall in 2015, has played 605 NHL games. With 232 goals and 362 assists, he’s just shy of 600 points. Everyone and their mother knows that Eichel will hit 600 points this season. So, I’m going to take it a step further.

There are 15 games remaining in the Golden Knights’ regular season. Eichel sits at 80 points, which is already a franchise record and two points shy of his career high. I predict that Eichel will go on a tear before the postseason and surpass 100 points for the first time. That would be 20– or more– points in 15 games. If that happens, he’ll be just six points shy of being a point-per-game player in his career. 

With the imminent return of William Karlsson to the lineup, Eichel will be responsible for fewer defensive matchups. He won’t cheat– he’s one of the best 200-foot players in the game– but he won’t be out every shift against the opposing team’s top players. So, he’ll be free to contribute more offensively. 

I’ll leave you with one more bonus prediction because I’m feeling generous. Eichel needs seven goals to have 100 as a Golden Knight. I predict he will do it this season. He has a 21-goal campaign, and when he’s hot, he’s hot; when he scores, the goals come in bursts.

The Captain Hits a Mile-Stone

Mark Stone has surpassed 70 points just once in his career during the 2018-19 season. He played 77 games, scored 33 goals, and provided 40 assists. When healthy, he’s otherwise been a perennial 60-point player.

I predict that will change this season. Stone might not be fully healthy— it’s mid-March, and he didn’t get a break in February— but he’s healthy enough to play. He’s been in a bit of an offensive slump recently and has scored just one goal in his past eight games, but I don’t think that’s going to continue.

Stone has 58 points in 53 games this season– 15 points shy of his career best. I predict Stone, along with Jack Eichel, will set a new career high in points. Stone, like Eichel, will benefit from William Karlsson’s return to the lineup. There might be a slight downtick in Stone’s ice time, but he would benefit from that. The less tired a player is, the more effective he is. 

Stone started the season hot with 23 points in his first 15 games. Who’s to say he can’t replicate that? I can easily see him getting hot with a lighter defensive workload. And if the Golden Knights power play– 28.9%, 2nd in the league– continues the course, Stone is bound to factor in. Of his 58 points this season, 23 have come on the power play.

Golden Knights are strong down the stretch, but…

No NHL game is truly easy, but the Golden Knights certainly don’t have the hardest strength of schedule. In fact, according to Tankathon, they have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the league. They play the Chicago Blackhawks, the Seattle Kraken, and the Nashville Predators twice.

It’s completely possible that the Golden Knights win nine or more of their remaining 15 games. My official prediction is that they’ll go 9-4-2 in the season’s final games, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they won more. I’m going to try and predict their losses:

• March 23rd vs Tampa Bay Lightning (second half of back-to-back)
• March 25th @ Minnesota Wild (this has ‘Fleury revenge game’ written all over it)
• April 3rd vs Winnipeg Jets (I don’t think the Golden Knights will sweep the season series)
• April 8th @ Colorado Avalanche; in OT (Golden Knights 4-6-2 vs Avs on road all-time)
• April 15th @ Calgary Flames (players likely rested)
• April 16th @ Vancouver Canucks; in OT (players likely rested)

I predict the Golden Knights will break out of their mini-slump. They’ll finish the season strong, healthy, and ready for the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

…The Los Angeles Kings win the Pacific Division

The Kings came into the league in 1967. They’ve won two Stanley Cups. They’ve made it to the Conference Finals three times. But they’ve won their division just once in their 57 years of existence. 

I think that will change this year. I predict the Kings will capture their second division title, their first since the 1990-91 season.

The Kings play 11 of their remaining 16 regular season games at home. Home ice advantage is a real thing, but this season, the Kings have taken that to a whole new level. They’re 13-18-5 on the road and 23-3-4 at home. Yes, you read that right. It’s an insane stat, and I can’t fully wrap my head around it. Maybe it’s a coincidence, or psychological, or maybe there are supernatural forces at work at Crypto.com Arena– whatever it is, it’s working for the Kings.

If their home magic continues, the Kings could realistically win 13 of their remaining 16 games. Their remaining strength of schedule isn’t as easy as the Golden Knights’ is, but for some reason, I’m drinking this Kings Home Kool-Aid. I’m superstitious, and to doubt would be to defy the hockey gods.

Or, maybe I’m just terribly uninterested in another five-game series between the Kings and the Edmonton Oilers in round one.

It’s one of those.