Golden Knights seek record-tying victory vs. Islanders
LAS VEGAS -- The NHL record for most wins by a team in its inaugural season is 33, accomplished by Anaheim and Florida in the 1993-94 season.
With a win over the visiting New York Islanders on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena, the Vegas Golden Knights can also claim a share of that record before the All-Star break.
Pretty amazing, especially when you realize that the Mighty Ducks and Panthers both accomplished the feat in 84 games. The Western Conference leading Golden Knights (32-11-4) will be trying to do it in 48 games.
"Of course. Why not?" center William Karlsson said when asked the record after practice Wednesday. "We're having a great season so far so why not just break that record while we're at it."
Karlsson, who leads the Western Conference with 27 goals, won't be going to Tampa for the All-Star Game but coach Gerard Gallant, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and left wing James Neal are. How nice would it be to take a chunk of the record with them?
"It would be nice to win tomorrow night's game to be sure," Gallant said. "Obviously you want to win as many games as you can and get points. It's just another thing you're passing. We're having a great year right now."
Vegas, which is coming in off a 6-3 victory over Columbus on Tuesday night, is 10-0-2 in its last 12 games at home. You have to go all the way back to Nov. 28 when the Golden Knights were blanked 3-0 by Ben Bishop and the Dallas Stars for the last time Vegas lost in regulation at home.
"It (the wins record) is not something we look at and go for," Fleury said. "It's just about playing our game and playing the way that we can, and the wins are going to come. We don't focus on records and things like that. It's just one game at a time and play the way we want to play."
The Islanders (24-20-5), coming in off a 3-2 overtime loss at Arizona on Monday, won the first meeting 6-3 behind a pair of goals by John Tavares on Oct. 30 at Barclays Center, snapping a five-game Vegas win streak in the process.
That game was tied, 2-2, late in the second period when third-string goalie Oscar Dansk, starting because of injuries to Fleury and backup Malcolm Subban, departed with a knee injury. Fourth-string goalie Maxime Lagace then allowed four goals on 11 shots.
The Islanders realize it will be a much tougher challenge Thursday night where the Golden Knights sport the NHL's best home record of 19-2-2.
"What they've been able to do is very impressive," Tavares told NHL.com after a Tuesday morning workout at T-Mobile Arena. "It was a big unknown coming into the year how they were going to do."
Not anymore.
"The days of the underdog expansion talk should have ended a while ago," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "I think they've proven that they're a heck of a team and have proven that they're not going away."
