The best team in hockey won again Sunday night. Won by beating an inferior divisional foe. Won because this is what really good sides do — take care of business against those they should.
The Golden Knights beat Calgary 3-0 at T-Mobile Arena for their sixth straight victory, continuing a December that has been about as stellar as you can imagine.
What a month of hockey from the Knights.
They’re now 10-1-0 in December, a stretch that will end with a home game against Montreal on Tuesday. The Knights lead the NHL in points percentage because of it. They’re getting contributions from all areas of the ice.
“We had a lot of games on the road before December and did a good job,” center Brett Howden said. “We’ve now done a good job coming back here and staying on it. Even the other day in San Jose, just picking up where we left off. Just want to keep that going.”
Defense matters
Hey, this all happens when you get the type of defense the Knights have played during this stretch. When your top six defensemen are all healthy.
It happens when you get depth scoring. When a player like Howden scores a career-best 15 goals.
When a player like Keegan Kolesar already has a career high nine.
It happens when you receive the sort of goaltending the Knights have during this run. Adin Hill might have struggled some to start this season, but he’s 7-1-1 in his last nine starts with a .926 save percentage and a 2.09 goals-against average.
Ilya Samsonov, not to be outdone, turned away 31 shots Sunday for his first shutout of the season. He’s 4-0 this month with a 1.25 goals-against average.
It happens when your penalty kill looks elite more times than not. When you’re killing off 87.5 percent of the calls against you over the last month.
It happens, yes, when the schedule softens for such a good team.
The winning streak has included victories against Pacific Division opponents Vancouver, Seattle, Anaheim, San Jose and now Calgary. Sure. You play who’s in front of you. But there is no question such a run has been aided some by those on the other side.
More importantly, though, has been how good the Knights are defensively.
The win Sunday was a microcosm of the streak. The Knights are going to score. But what’s impressive is how they’re limiting chances in their own end.
Coach Bruce Cassidy said the team’s structure in the defensive zone is excellent. That it’s not giving up much from the slot. That it’s getting better at clearing rebounds and not allowing second-chance attempts. That there are sticks in lanes on east-west plays. That the rush defense was good Sunday.
That things are far better than they were in November.
Lights out
“We’re a lot closer than where we were six weeks ago and it’s one of the reasons we’ve had a terrific month,” Cassidy said. “We’ve just cleaned up our defensive stuff to the point where we’re not forcing goalies to make a number of high-danger saves. Now, (Samsonov) did his job tonight very well, don’t get me wrong. But I thought we were leakier in that area to start the year.
“It’s probably normal coming out of camp that you’re not really in hockey defending mode yet, and I think I’ve said that many times. It takes a while to get up to speed there, and it feels like we’re awfully close.”
The best team in hockey is playing lights out right now. It also has just one road game in its next seven outings.
A great time for continued separation atop the division.
A great time to keep racking up those points.
Here comes January.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at [email protected]. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.
