The Vegas Golden Knights finished with the 16th-ranked penalty kill in the NHL during the 2023-24 regular season. The injury issues they endured hampered its effectiveness but with the crop of players the Golden Knights have, it should be considered a letdown to finish in the middle of the pack.

The Golden Knight finished the season with a penalty kill percentage of 79.34%, 1.79% better than the 2022-23 season where they finished with a 77.55%.

Upfront, the Golden Knights will likely run a rotation of Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Mark Stone, Nicolas Roy and Brett Howden. Losing William Carrier and Chandler Stephenson in free agency is a loss that the Golden Knights penalty kill will feel, even if Carrier has struggled to stay healthy for the past three seasons.

Defensively, the Golden Knights have a plethora of options. Nicolas Hague, Zach Whitecloud and Brayden McNabb are big defenders who can clear out the front of the net and use their frame to block shots. Alex Pietrangelo and Noah Hanifin are experienced defenders and are willing and able to play in every scenario.

The Golden Knights aren’t afraid to try and generate offence while shorthanded either finishing 9th in the NHL last year in shorthanded goals. Stone, Stephenson and Howden all finished with multiple shorthanded goals while Karlsson and Roy added ones themselves.

A key part of a successful penalty kill is the reliance on the goaltender. Adin Hill will need to be better this year and Ilya Samsonov will need to bounce back after an underwhelming season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Samsonov finds himself in trouble when he overstates his lateral movements, something that is vital to control when on the penalty kill.

With multiple tall forwards and defenders, the Golden Knights will need to use this to their advantage by knocking pucks off of sticks and blocking passing lanes.

The Golden Knights can make up for some of the wholes their forward group has at 5v5 by becoming a dominant force on special teams. In recent years, the Edmonton Oilers and the Colorado Avalanche have had a lot of success by doing so.

Make sure you bookmark THN’s Vegas Golden Knights site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.