G45 New Jersey Devils vs. Vegas Golden Knights: Bruised and battered

A couple of injury plagued teams will square off Monday night at The Rock.

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A few notes to get you set for New Jersey vs. Vegas:

Bruised and battered

The Golden Knights are a very good team but, make no mistake, the Devils are catching them at the right time.

The 2023 Champions are currently going through life without Jack Eichel, Shea Theodore, William Karlsson, and Adin Hill due to various injuries.

That’s an elite top line center, a near point per game defenseman, a resurgent two-way pivot (who has 15 goals through 38 games), and a quality starting goaltender. Suffice to say, the Golden Knights can feel the Devils’ pain with regards to injury troubles.

Although the Golden Knights have won three games in a row, they have predictably looked more vulnerable without so many key guys.

Vegas ranks 21st in expected goal share this month, controlling just 47% since the calendar flipped. That stems mostly from an offense that has lost its juice without several top players.

The Golden Knights have generated 2.27 expected goals per 60 at 5v5 in 2024. That ranks them 25th in the league – just ahead of the Anaheim Ducks.

They look even worse when it comes to converting expected goals into real ones. The Golden Knights are scoring just 1.87 goals per 60 at 5v5, which is good for 28th place.

The Golden Knights are having a difficult time generating quality chances and are trying to grind out low-event wins to compensate.

I think that’s a good thing for the Devils right now. Given the cluster injuries they’re going through on defense, they’re likely happy to play a slower pace game where they can lean on structure and a pack mentality to try and compensate for depleted personnel.

Rolling the dice