VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES:
GOLDEN KNIGHTS UPCOMING GAMES
Golden Knights 2022-23 Record: 24-11-1, 49 points (10-9-0 at Home, 14-2-1 on Road)
DATE OPPONENT TELEVISION RADIO SPANISH RADIO
Dec. 27 at Los Angeles Kings AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM None
Dec. 28 at Anaheim Ducks AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM None
Dec. 31 vs. Nashville Predators AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
Jan. 2 at Colorado Avalanche AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM None
Jan. 5 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
GOLDEN KNIGHTS LAST GAME RECAP
December 23 – Vegas Golden Knights 5, St. Louis Blues 4 (SO)
Four players had multi-point nights for the Vegas Golden Knights (24-11-1) as they defeated the St. Louis Blues (16-16-2), 5-4, in a shootout on Friday night at T-Mobile Arena. Early in the first period, Alex Pietrangelo skated into a Chandler Stephenson pass and lifted a backhand shot past Jordan Binnington, to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead. Less than a minute into the middle frame, Pavel Buchnevich found the back of the net to tie the game, but a quick answer from Mark Stone put Vegas back in front. Vladimir Tarasenko and Justin Faulk scored two minutes apart to give St. Louis its first lead of the game midway through the second period. Late in the frame, Stone found Michael Amadio who buried his second goal in as many games to send the teams into the third tied up at 3-3. Noel Acciari put St. Louis back in front early in the thid, but Stephenson scored with the goalie pulled to tie the game with 1:36 to play. Neither side scored in overtime to set up Stone’s shooutout winner as the Golden Knights came away with two points.
LAST GAME BY THE NUMBERS
- Amadio had his first multi-point game of the season (1-2—3) to extend his point streak to three games
- Stone scores agaist the Blues and has three goals, five points in last two games
- Stephenson extends his point streak to seven games, the longest of his career
- Pietrangelo nets his first goal against his former team since joining Vegas in 2020-21
- Logan Thompson made 25 saves, and maintained his dominace in the shootout as he leads all active goaltenders with a .848 career shootout save percentage
- Vegas improves to 24-11-1 on the season and 10-9-0 at home
Easy Steph-y
Chandler Stephenson leads Vegas in points with 36 (9-27—36) in 36 games after posting his second four-point game in 11 days on Friday night against the Blues. The forward’s offensive performance has been critical to the Golden Knights’ success as he scored the tying goal in the final minutes of regulation to send Vegas into extra time and then scored in the shootout to allow Stone to secure the win. Stephenson currently owns a seven-game point streak with 14 points (3-11—14) during that time. This is the longest point streak for Stephenson in his career and ties the longest by a Golden Knight this season (last, Eichel 10/28-11/10). Stephenson leads the club in helpers with 27 on the season and is T-5th among NHL forwards.
Aye-Aye Captain
Mark Stone posted his seventh multi-point game of the season on Friday and now has three goals in two games. The captain also scored the winning goal in the shootout on his second attempt of the season to give Vegas two points against St. Louis. Stone is second on the team with goals scored (15) this season, just two behind Smith.
It’s-A Me, Amadio
Michael Amadio matched his career high of points in a game with three (1-2—3) on Friday against the Blues and owns five points (2- 3—5) since being promoted to Vegas’ top line on Dec. 19. Tuesday’s meeting with the Kings will be the fourth time that Amadio has faced his former team, where he spent the first four seasons of his NHL career (2017-21).
Hitting the Gas
Since returning to the lineup from personal reasons, Alex Pietrangelo has points in four straight games (1-4—5). The defenseman has recorded an assist in each of the four, including the primary assist on Stephenson’s game-tying goal against the Blues on Friday. Pietrangelo also scored his fourth goal of the season against his former team, his first since joining Vegas in 2020 as a free agent.
Power Play Magic
The Golden Knights have converted on 13 of their 32 power play opportunities for the month of December, passing the club’s previous record (12) for the most power play goals in a month. Vegas’ 40.6% power play percentage this month is second in the NHL, behind the Edmonton Oilers (41.9%).
Road Warriors
The VGK road record stands at 14-2-1, the best in the NHL. 29 of Vegas’ 49 points have come on the road, including the six points the Golden Knights brought home after going 3-1-0 as the visiting team earlier this month. With their win in Chicago on Dec. 15, the Golden Knights have now returned from a road trip unbeaten twice this season. In November, Vegas went 5-0-0 on the road, which saw scoring from 13 different Golden Knights. With their 14th win on enemy ice coming against the Blackhawks, the Golden Knights currently own a road win streak of four games.
The Shorty King
Reilly Smith netted his fourth shorthanded goal of the season on Dec. 15 in Chicago, which leads the league. Smith’s 12 shorthanded goals since joining Vegas in 2017-18 are the most in franchise history. The Golden Knights are tied with the Wild for the most shorthanded goals by a team with six on the season.
Martinez Block Party
Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez leads the NHL with 131 blocked shots in 36 games and is the only player in the league to reach the century mark so far this season. Martinez has led the team in blocked shots in 22 of 36 games.
Spreading the Wealth
Eight Golden Knights have recorded 20 or more points this season, which is the most of any team in the league. Chandler Stephenson leads the club with 36 points, followed by Mark Stone with 30 points, and Jack Eichel with 29 points.
Against the Kings
The contest between the Golden Knights and the Kings is the second of four this season. The last time these teams met, Vegas spoiled Los Angeles’ opening night with a 4-3 win on Oct. 11. The Golden Knights used goals from Jonathan Marchessault, Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, and Mark Stone to defeat the Kings. Stone was the hero of the contest as the captain netted the game-winner with just 26 seconds left in regulation. Vegas is 7-5-1 in Crypto.com Arena but 13-9-1 overall against Los Angeles during the regular season. Alex Pietrangelo leads the Golden Knights with 28 points in 38 meetings, including four points in their last two meetings (1-3—4).
LOS ANGELES KINGS NOTES:
DEC. 27 vs. VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS – 7:30 PM PT // Venue: Crypto.com Arena // TV: Bally Sports West // Radio:
iHeartRadio
-The LA Kings host the Vegas Golden Knights for the second of four meetings between the clubs this season (4-3 L on Oct. 11; Jan. 7;
April 6).
-The Kings look to even the season series against the Golden Knights.
-With a win tonight, the Kings can extend their home win streak to four games (3-2 W on Dec. 17 vs. SJ; 4-1 W on Dec. 20 vs. ANA; 4-3
OTW on Dec. 22 vs. CGY).
WARM-UPS
1) The last time the Kings and Golden Knights met was on Opening Night at Crypto.com Arena this season, Gabriel Vilardi opened the LA Kings season scoring with his first period goal. At 23 years and 56 days old, Vilardi became the fourth-youngest LA skater in the last 15 years to score in the team’s season-opening game. (Nick Shore, 23 years and 11 days; Drew Doughty, 19 years and 299 days; Anze Kopitar, 22 years and 40 days).
2) Only the Florida Panthers (1,284) have put up more shots on goal this season than the LA Kings (1,217).
3) Carolina (13) and Vegas (12) are the only two teams have more one-goal game victories this season than the Kings (10).
4) No team has scored more goals against Vegas all-time than the Kings (77).
5) No skater has drawn more penalties on the Kings than Gabriel Vilardi (17).
vs. VEGAS ALL-TIME:
All-Time Record: 12-13-1
Home: 6-7-1
Away: 6-6-0
OT: 3-1
Shootout: 0-0
2021-22: 2-2-0
2022-23: 0-1-0
FRANCHISE LEADERS vs. VEGAS:
Anze Kopitar* – 26 GP, 30 PTS (11-19=30)
Alex Iafallo* – 26 GP, 19 PTS (5-14=19)
Adrian Kempe* – 26 GP, 18 PTS (7-11=18)
Drew Doughty* – 25 GP, 17 PTS (3-14=17)
Dustin Brown – 23 GP, 12 PTS (5-7=12)
*-denotes active roster player
LAST MEETING vs. VEGAS: October 11, 2022 – LAK 3 vs. VGK 4
Venue: Crypto.com Arena
LAK Goals: Vilardi (1), Kempe (1), Kaliyev (1)
VGK Goals: Marchessault (1), Eichel (1), Karlsson (1), Stone (1)
Goalies: LAK: Quick (L, 47 saves, 51 shots) VGK: Thompson (W, 27 saves, 30 shots)
LAK PP: 0-for-3
LAK PK: 4-for-5
THE NEXT THREE:
Thurs., Dec. 29 | at Colorado Avalanche | 7:00 p.m. MT (6:00 p.m. PT) | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o The LA Kings play Colorado for the first of three meetings between the clubs this season (March 9; April 8).
Thurs., Dec. 31 | vs. Philadelphia Flyers | 1:00 p.m. PT | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o The LA Kings and Flyers met nearly one year from this date on Jan. 1, 2022. LA won, 6-3.
Thurs., Jan. 3 | vs. Dallas Stars | 7:00 p.m. PT | ESPN | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o Kevin Fiala (6-6=12) is riding an eight-game point streak against the Dallas Stars while teammate Arthur
Kaliyev is riding a four-game point streak (4-1=5), having points in all four career games versus Dallas.
INJURY & MGL REPORT
Player, Games Missed, Date(s), Status
F Alex Iafallo, 23 games, Oct. 18 – Dec. 3 (lower-body)
F Brendan Lemieux, 18 games, Nov. 14 – Dec. 20 (lower-body)
F Quinton Byfield, 6 games, Oct. 27 – Nov. 5 (illness)
F Arthur Kaliyev, 2 games, Dec. 22 – Pres. (lower-body)
F Viktor Arvidsson, 2 games, Oct. 13 (illness); Oct. 25 (illness)
D Sean Durzi, 2 games, Nov. 19 – Nov. 22. (lower-body)
D Drew Doughty, 1 game, Dec. 11 (lower-body)
F Gabriel Vilardi, 1 game, Nov. 27 (lower-body)
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games List: 55
RECENT TRANSACTIONS (as of 12/25/22)
Dec. 19 – Rasmus Kupari (F) and Jordan Spence (D) recalled from Ontario (AHL).
Dec. 22 – Brendan Lemieux (F) activated from injured reserve.
Dec. 22 – Tobie Bisson (D) loaned to Hockey Canada for the Spengler Cup.
Dec. 23 – Rasmus Kupari (F) and Jordan Spence (D) loaned to Ontario (AHL).
LA KINGS TEAM NOTES:
HOME SWEET HOME
The Kings have found success on the man advantage at home, scoring at least one power play goal in eight of their last nine games at
Crypto.com Arena, dating back to Nov. 12. During that time, the Kings have 12 power-play goals in 30 man-advantage opportunities for
a league-high 40.0% conversion rate on the power play:
Best home PP% since Nov. 12, 2022
Team GP PP%
LA Kings 9 40.0% (12-for-30)
Boston Bruins 12 35.4% (17-for-40)
Edmonton Oilers 10 35.1% (13-for-37)
Toronto Maple Leafs 10 33.3% (11-for-33)
Buffalo Sabres 9 31.3% (8-for-31)
Of those eight games with a power-play goal, four of them saw multiple goals on the power play. The Kings have had five multi-power
play goal efforts at home, which is fifth-most in the league:
Most multi-PPG games at home this season
Team Multi-PPG home games Record
Edmonton Oilers 8 6-2-0
Buffalo Sabres 7 5-2-0
Boston Bruins 7 7-0-0
Ottawa Senators 6 4-2-0
LA Kings 5 3-2-0
KING OF THE KNIGHTS
Kings captain Anze Kopitar is no stranger to the scoring sheet against the Golden Knights with 30 points (11-19=30) in 26 career
games. Of his 26 games against Vegas, Kopitar has been held pointless in just seven occasions. No skater has more points against the
Golden Knights than Kopitar since Vegas joined the league prior to the 2016-17 season, while fellow teammate Alex Iafallo is tied with
Edmonton’s Connor McDavid for fourth-most and Adrian Kempe is tied sixth-most:
Most points against Vegas all-time
Player GP Points
Anze Kopitar 26 30 (11-19=30)
Ryan O’Reilly 21 22 (11-11=22)
Kyle Connor 14 21 (10-11=21)
Alex Iafallo 26 19 (5-14=19)
Connor McDavid 15 19 (8-11=19)
Adrian Kempe 26 18 (7-11=18)
Leon Draisaitl 16 18 (6-12=18)
Nathan MacKinnon 20 18 (5-13=18)
Kopitar is one of four players to have a point-per-game average of over one versus Vegas, joining Connor McDavid (1.27), Leon
Draisaitl (1.13) and Ryan O’Reilly (1.05) (min. GP: 15).
PACIFIC DIVISION SHOWDOWN
The top two teams in the Pacific Division meet for the second of four matchups between one another this season (4-3 L on Oct. 11;
Jan. 7; April 6). The Kings trail the Golden Knights by just five points for the Pacific Division lead:
THE CAPTAIN’S HOUSE
Anze Kopitar sits at 597 (198-399=597) career home points, trailing only Marcel Dionne (288-412=700) and Luc Robitaille (322-
347=669) in club history. With three more points, Kopitar can become the fifth active player to eclipse 600 career home points:
Most home points among active skaters
Player GP Points
Sidney Crosby 568 805 (292-513=805)
Alex Ovechkin 651 749 (393-356=749)
Evgeni Malkin 510 658 (250-408=658)
Patrick Kane 573 636 (224-412=636)
Anze Kopitar 623 597 (198-399=597)
With one more assist at home, Kopitar can become one of two players in franchise history to have 400+ assists at home (Dionne – 412)
and one of four active skaters to accomplish such feat (Sidney Crosby – 513; Patrick Kane – 412; Evgeni Malkin – 408). Kopitar has
1,097 points in 1,247 career NHL games. Kopitar can join Dionne and Robitaille as the only three skaters in franchise history to record
1,100 points for the LA Kings with three more points.
GETTING BACK IN THE GROOVE
Forward Alex Iafallo tallied his fourth goal of the season to give him points in each of this last three games (2-1=3). In 14 games this
season, Iafallo has recorded 10 points (4-6=10) with a plus-5 rating. Since his NHL debut season in 2017-18, Iafallo has accumulated
178 points (75-103=178) in 375 career NHL games which ranks seventh-most among undrafted skaters during that time:
Most points among undrafted skaters since 2017-18
Player GP PTS
Artemi Panarin 381 459 (135-324=459)
Jonathan Marchessault 391 318 (136-182=318)
Mats Zuccarello 338 281 (93-118=281)
Torey Krug 347 253 (45-208=253)
Yanni Gourde 393 245 (99-146=245)
Mark Giordano 385 214 (53-161=214)
Alex Iafallo 375 178 (75-103=178)
Conor Sheary 380 173 (85-88=173)
WE’RE GOING STREAKIN’
Forward Phillip Danault enters tonight riding a four-game point streak (2-2=4), dating back to Dec. 17, and a four-game home point
streak (2-2=4), dating back to Dec. 3 versus Carolina. Danault’s four-game regular point streak matches his season-long streak after
establishing a four-game streak earlier this season (Oct. 22 – 29; 2-2=4). With a point tonight, Danault can extend both his point streaks
to five games. In doing so, his home point streak will tie his career-long previously set with Montreal from Nov. 28, 2019 to Dec. 11,
2019 (1-5=6). Danault can also join Sean Durzi (Nov. 25 – Dec. 6, 2022, 6 GP, 1-8=9) and Kevin Fiala (Oct. 25 – Nov., 1, 2022, 5 GP,
2-6=8) as the only two Kings skaters to record a regular point streak of at least five games this season and can be the second to have a
five-game home point streak (Gabriel Vilardi, Oct. 25 – Nov. 8, 2022, 5 GP, 5-1=6).
PHEONIX RISING
Kings goaltender Pheonix Copley stopped 27 of 30 shots Thursday night versus Calgary to improve to 6-1 on the season. In his seven
games with the Kings this season, Copley has established a 2.49 goals-against average and .910 save percentage to go along with his
6-1-0 record. Since his season debut with the Kings on Dec. 6 at Ottawa, only Washington’s Charlie Lindgren (7) has more wins than
Copley. A native of North Pole, AK, Copley is one of three Alaska-born goaltenders to play in the NHL, joining Jeremy Swayman
(BOS) and Ty Conklin.
SACRIFICING THE BODY
The LA Kings have blocked 607 shots through 37 games played this season, which is third-most in the league behind Vegas (668) and
Philadelphia (628). Of the team’s 607 blocked shots, 243 have come from forwards with Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault leading the
way. Both Kopitar and Danault sit second and third in blocked shots among forwards in the league this season:
Most blocked shots among forwards
Player GP Blocked shots
Nick Bonino (SJS) 32 49
Anze Kopitar (LAK) 37 46
Phillip Danault (LAK) 37 40
Garnet Hathaway (WSH) 36 38
Auston Matthews (TOR) 34 36
Noel Acciari (STL) 34 36
VILARDI PARTY
Gabe Vilardi scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season last Thursday night, giving him 22 points (14-8=22) in 35 games this
season. With one more point, Vilardi can tie his season-high of 23 points (10-13=23) previously set in the 2002-21 season through 54
games. Vilardi’s 14 goals are sixth-most in the league among forwards 23 years of age or younger:
Most goals by skaters 23 years of age or younger
Player GP Goals
Jason Robertson (DAL) 35 24
Cole Caufield (MTL) 34 19
Jack Hughes (NJD) 34 18
Andrei Svechnikov (CAR) 33 18
Nick Suzuki (MTL) 34 15
Gabe Vilardi (LAK) 35 14
Brady Tkachuk 33 13
ROYAL LEADER
Forward Kevin Fiala scored his 10th goal of the season last week against Anaheim to eclipse the 10-goal plateau for the seventh
consecutive season and extend his team leading point total to 35 (10-25=35). He also boosted his regular-season totals in the 2022
calendar year to 100 points (37-63=100), becoming the 14th player in 2022 to reach the century mark. Per NHL PR, only three other
calendar years in league history had as many: 1992 (20), 1983 (15) and 1993 (14).
Fiala also leads the team in multi-point games this season with 10. (6 GP with 2 PTS; 3 GP with 3 PTS; 1 GP with 4 PTS). With one
more three-plus point game, Fiala can become the first Kings skater since the 2017-18 season, and second in the last 15 years, to have
at least five three-plus point games in a season (Anze Kopitar, 7 GP in 2017-18; 5 GP in 2014-15; 7 GP, 2009-10; 6 GP, 2008-09).
YOUNG GUN
Defenseman Sean Durzi registered an assist last Friday night in Arizona to reach the 20-point mark (4-16=20) for a second
consecutive season. In doing so, Durzi became just the fourth Kings defenseman in the past 25 years to have recorded 20-plus points
in each of their first two or more consecutive seasons in the NHL, including current Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (15 seasons:
2008-09 to 2022-23).
Durzi sits at 98 career NHL games played entering tonight. With two more games played, Durzi can become the 11th defenseman from
his draft class to appear in 100 career NHL games. In 34 games this season, Durzi’s 20 points sits third among defensemen from the
2018 NHL Draft class and eighth among defensemen 24 years of age or younger in the league:
2022-23 point totals among 2018 NHL Drafted defensemen
Player GP Points
Rasmus Dahlin (BUF) 31 37 (10-27=37)
Quinn Hughes (VAN) 29 28 (0-28=28)
Noah Dobson (NYI) 35 23 (10-13=23)
Sean Durzi (LAK) 34 20 (4-16=20)
Two Players n/a 16 (n/a)
RESPECT YOUR EDLERS
Since signing with the Kings in 2021, defenseman Alex Edler has tallied four goals, 21 assists and 25 points in 71 games with a plus15 rating. In 997 career NHL games, Edler has amassed 434 points (103-331=434). With five more games, Edler can become the sixth
Swedish-born defenseman in league history to skate in 1,000 career NHL games, 12th active defenseman, second defenseman from
the 2004 NHL Draft class (Alex Goligoski, 1,010 GP) and seventh overall skater from his draft class to reach such mark.
