FSM Essential Preview: Golden Knights vs Sharks Game 20

The Vegas Golden Knights will head into Friday evenings game against the Sharks with a 14-4-1 record good for 29 points and first place in the Honda West Division.

After sweeping their two-game series against the Minnesota Wild, VGK is now on a four-game winning streak and has not shown any signs of slowing down. They also have at least a game in hand on every other team in their division and hold multiple games in hand on all teams except for three of them.

Bolstered by the fact that their goal differential is a +20 right now, one should not be surprised that they are in the top spot in the Honda West. This is aided by the fact that they are 10-2-1 at home, even without fans allowed in the arena for the first seventeen games.

Their away record is still solid as well with VGK sitting at 4-2 when not on home ice, but the fact of the matter is that they have enjoyed being able to drive to the rink for much of the season. With a six-game road trip starting tonight, it provides the perfect test to see how the Knights perform away from home for an extended period of time.

While playing on home ice has not been as big of an advantage as years past it still provides some luxuries such as players getting to go home to their families, eat at their favorite restaurants, stick to their normal routine etc.

This stretch of six games will be a good test for the Knights as it will be the longest time spent away from Vegas so far this season. In addition to being away from home, two of their road games will be against the Minnesota Wild, and another two will be against the St. Louis Blues. The Knights have been able to beat both of these teams with a record of 3-0-1 but they were not easy wins. If Fleury keeps playing the way he has though they should be able to approach this road trip confidently and use it as a chance to continue to improve.

As Vegas prepares to play their twentieth game of the season tonight against the Sharks at SAP Center, I’m sure they are focusing on starting their road trip off on the right foot.

With all due respect, the Sharks seem to be a perfect team to build momentum against as they have struggled so far this season. With a goal differential set at -18, a home record of 2-4-0, and a roster that has underperformed thus far the Knights should be able to perform well against them. The only way I see VGK losing one or both games against the Sharks would be by beating themselves through ill-timed penalties and sloppy defensive play.

Even if those scenarios do happen, it is nearly impossible to count Fleury out as he has elevated his game to another level and looks poised to steal a game on any given night. Vegas also matches up well against the Sharks in terms of special teams as the Knights are currently ranked fourth on the penalty kill and the Sharks ranked at twenty-second in terms of powerplay percentage.

The Vegas Golden Knights will resume play Friday evening taking on the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center. The puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be on AT&T Sportsnet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.

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-D.J. Wood– Franchise Sports Media

Follow D.J. on Twitter @DJwoody97

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