No reason to worry about Karlsson
Send NHL writer Ben Gotz all your Golden Knights questions and hot takes. Tweet him @Bensgotz or email him bgotz@ reviewjournal.com.
The Golden Knights are off to a 2-4 start and based off the questions this week fans have plenty of early concerns about this team. Keep in mind on these responses, there’s almost six months of regular-season hockey left:
“Is (William) Karlsson a flash in the pan or is he for real?” - Jeff
Don’t worry: Knights center William Karlsson is no Beanie Baby.
He might never score 43 goals again like last year but that doesn’t make him a passing hockey fad.
Karlsson brings a lot more to the table besides scoring, and that’s been evident this season. He already had four assists in his first six games and his plus-minus of plusthree ranks second in the team, a year after he led the league at plus-49.
The key for him is to make sure his passing and defense remain unaffected if he stays mired in a scoring slump.
But he has plenty of reason to believe a goal will come because he didn’t score in his first six games last year and still finished third in the NHL in goals.
“Poor (Marc-andre Fleury) could use some really good defensive players.” — @ Vegasplayerguy
The Knights allow the second-fewest shots per game (24.8) to opponents but are tied for seventh-worst in goals allowed (19).
That only happens if you have poor goaltending or you’re giving up too many quality scoring chances.
With the Knights it’s the latter because Fleury’s numbers (.880 save percentage, 3.08 goals against average entering Tuesday) don’t reflect how well he’s played. He was instrumental in the Knights’ first two wins and several of the saves he made Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers could go on his career highlight reel.
It’s Fleury’s defense that has been porous and allowed a myriad of shot attempts from around the crease. That’s one thing the Knights need to clean up starting this homestand if they want their goaltender to be successful this season.
“Caps PP was horrible too. What’s going on with these teams (on the power play)?” - @Scott_skeels
The Washington Capitals are a separate issue but it seems someone unplugged the Knights power play during the offseason.
They were tied for ninth in power-play percentage (21.4) last season but they’ve started 0-for-16 this year and looked disorganized in doing so.
The Knights’ two power play units have been shuffled a lot as the team looks for a combination that gets the puck into the net. Already defensemen Colin Miller, Shea Theodore and Brad Hunt have skated with the top unit as coach Gerard Gallant tries to find some way to get the plug back in the socket.
Until he does, the Knights’ offense could remain stagnant without a special-teams boost.
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal. com. Follow @Bensgotz on Twitter.