2018–19 Vegas Golden Knights season

The 2018–19 Vegas Golden Knights season was the second season for the National Hockey League franchise that started playing in the 2017–18 season. Prior to the season, the NHL suspended Nate Schmidt for 20 regular season games for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. On March 29, 2019, the Golden Knights clinched a playoff spot after the Arizona Coyotes' 3–2 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
Despite leading the series against the San Jose Sharks 3–1 in the First Round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Golden Knights were eliminated in seven games.
==Standings==
===Divisional standings===
===Conference standings===
==Schedule and results==
===Preseason===
The preseason schedule was released on June 18, 2018.
2018 preseason game log: 6–1–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 3–0–0)	2018 preseason game log: 6–1–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 3–0–0)	2018 preseason game log: 6–1–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 3–0–0)	2018 preseason game log: 6–1–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 3–0–0)	2018 preseason game log: 6–1–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 3–0–0)	2018 preseason game log: 6–1–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 3–0–0)	2018 preseason game log: 6–1–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 3–0–0)	2018 preseason game log: 6–1–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 3–0–0)	2018 preseason game log: 6–1–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 3–0–0)	2018 preseason game log: 6–1–0 (Home: 3–1–0 ; Road: 3–0–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Recap
1 	September 16 	Arizona 	2–7 	Vegas 	 	Ferguson 	17,567 	1–0–0 	Recap
2 	September 18 	Vegas 	5–1 	Colorado 	 	Fucale 	— 	2–0–0 	Recap
3 	September 20 	Vegas 	7–2 	Los Angeles 	 	Dansk 	12,916 	3–0–0 	Recap
4 	September 22 	Vegas 	5–4 	San Jose 	SO 	Lagace 	— 	4–0–0 	Recap
5 	September 24 	Colorado 	5–3 	Vegas 	 	Subban 	17,880 	4–1–0 	Recap
6 	September 28 	Los Angeles 	0–2 	Vegas 	 	Fleury 	17,928 	5–1–0 	Recap
7 	September 30 	San Jose 	2–5 	Vegas 	 	Fleury 	17,958 	6–1–0 	Recap
===Regular season===
The regular season schedule was released on June 21, 2018.
2018–19 game log 	2018–19 game log 	2018–19 game log 	2018–19 game log 	2018–19 game log 	2018–19 game log 	2018–19 game log 	2018–19 game log 	2018–19 game log 	2018–19 game log 	2018–19 game log
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October: 5–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–4–0)	October: 5–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–4–0)	October: 5–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–4–0)	October: 5–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–4–0)	October: 5–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–4–0)	October: 5–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–4–0)	October: 5–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–4–0)	October: 5–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–4–0)	October: 5–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–4–0)	October: 5–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–4–0)	October: 5–6–1 (Home: 3–2–1 ; Road: 2–4–0)
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Record 	Pts 	Recap
1 	October 4 	Philadelphia 	5–2 	Vegas 	 	Fleury 	18,555 	0–1–0 	0 	Recap
2 	October 6 	Vegas 	2–1 	Minnesota 	SO 	Fleury 	19,077 	1–1–0 	2 	Recap
3 	October 8 	Vegas 	2–4 	Buffalo 	 	Fleury 	16,004 	1–2–0 	2 	Recap
4 	October 10 	Vegas 	2–5 	Washington 	 	Fleury 	18,506 	1–3–0 	2 	Recap
5 	October 11 	Vegas 	2–4 	Pittsburgh 	 	Subban 	18,610 	1–4–0 	2 	Recap
6 	October 13 	Vegas 	1–0 	Philadelphia 	 	Fleury 	19,067 	2–4–0 	4 	Recap
7 	October 16 	Buffalo 	1–4 	Vegas 	 	Fleury 	18,321 	3–4–0 	6 	Recap
8 	October 20 	Anaheim 	1–3 	Vegas 	 	Fleury 	18,375 	4–4–0 	8 	Recap
9 	October 24 	Vancouver 	3–2 	Vegas 	SO 	Fleury 	18,189 	4–4–1 	9 	Recap
10 	October 26 	Tampa Bay 	3–2 	Vegas 	 	Fleury 	18,207 	4–5–1 	9 	Recap
11 	October 28 	Ottawa 	3–4 	Vegas 	OT 	Fleury 	18,089 	5–5–1 	11 	Recap
12 	October 30 	Vegas 	1–4 	Nashville 	 	Subban 	17,367 	5–6–1 	11 	Recap
===Playoffs===
The Golden Knights faced the San Jose Sharks in the First Round of the playoffs, and were defeated in seven games. They played against each other in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs, where the Golden Knights defeated the Sharks in the Second Round in six games.
2019 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2019 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2019 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2019 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2019 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2019 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2019 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2019 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2019 Stanley Cup playoffs 	2019 Stanley Cup playoffs
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Western Conference First Round vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks: San Jose won 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks: San Jose won 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks: San Jose won 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks: San Jose won 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks: San Jose won 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks: San Jose won 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks: San Jose won 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks: San Jose won 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks: San Jose won 4–3	Western Conference First Round vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks: San Jose won 4–3
# 	Date 	Visitor 	Score 	Home 	OT 	Decision 	Attendance 	Series 	Recap
1 	April 10 	Vegas 	2–5 	San Jose 	 	Fleury 	17,562 	0–1 	Recap
2 	April 12 	Vegas 	5–3 	San Jose 	 	Fleury 	17,562 	1–1 	Recap
3 	April 14 	San Jose 	3–6 	Vegas 	 	Fleury 	18,461 	2–1 	Recap
4 	April 16 	San Jose 	0–5 	Vegas 	 	Fleury 	18,567 	3–1 	Recap
5 	April 18 	Vegas 	2–5 	San Jose 	 	Fleury 	17,562 	3–2 	Recap
6 	April 21 	San Jose 	2–1 	Vegas 	2OT 	Fleury 	18,458 	3–3 	Recap
7 	April 23 	Vegas 	4–5 	San Jose 	OT 	Fleury 	17,562 	3–4 	Recap
==Player statistics==
Final
===Skaters===
Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	82	25	34	59	+2 	52
 	82	24	32	56	+1 	16
 	74	19	34	53	+13	14
 	74	20	32	52	+13	8
 	50	13	29	42	+14	30
 	78	22	19	41	+19	16
 	66	22	18	40	–13	36
 	79	12	25	37	–4 	20
 	61	9 	21	30	+22	8
 	65	3 	26	29	0 	44
 	80	9 	11	20	+1 	74
 	31	12	6 	18	+7 	6
 	68	5 	13	18	–6 	8
 	68	8 	9 	17	–10	18
 	81	4 	12	16	+11	52
 	76	6 	9 	15	+2 	6
 	57	3 	12	15	+16	53
 	61	3 	12	15	+5 	14
‡ 	35	4 	8 	12	+3 	24
 	74	2 	10	12	–3 	18
† 	18	5 	6 	11	+4 	5
 	54	8 	1 	9 	–4 	29
‡ 	13	2 	5 	7 	+3 	2
 	15	2 	5 	7 	+1 	10
 	17	1 	3 	4 	–2 	2
† 	10	2 	0 	2 	–3 	0
 	6 	1 	0 	1 	–1 	0
 	1 	0 	1 	1 	–1 	0
 Playoffs
Player	 	 	 	 	 	
 	7	6	6	12	+2	2
 	7	5	6	11	+1	4
 	7	2	6	8 	+2	2
 	7	1	7	8 	+1	6
 	7	4	2	6 	+1	6
 	7	1	5	6 	+1	0
 	7	2	3	5 	+1	2
 	7	0	4	4 	+2	2
 	6	1	2	3 	+1	6
 	7	2	0	2 	+1	17
 	7	1	1	2 	0 	8
 	7	0	1	1 	+4	8
 	7	0	1	1 	+2	8
 	1	0	0	0 	–2	2
 	1	0	0	0 	0 	0
 	6	0	0	0 	0 	2
 	7	0	0	0 	–1	6
 	7	0	0	0 	–1	17
 	7	0	0	0 	–3	14
 	7	0	0	0 	–1	0
===Goaltenders===
Regular season
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	61	61	3,635	35	21	5	152	2.51	1745	.913	8	0	2	4
 	21	20	1,227	8 	10	2	60 	2.93	612 	.902	1	0	0	4
 	1 	1 	60 	0 	1 	0	4 	4.03	31 	.871	0	0	0	0
 Playoffs
Player	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	7	7	466:32	3	4	21	2.70	230	.909	1	0	0	0
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Golden Knights. Stats reflect time with the Golden Knights only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Golden Knights only.
Bold/italics denotes franchise record.
==Transactions==
The Golden Knights have been involved in the following transactions during the 2018–19 season.
===Trades===
Date	Details 	Details 	Ref
 	To Pittsburgh Penguins7th-round pick in 2019 	To Vegas Golden Knights7th-round pick in 2018 	
 	To Montreal CanadiensTomas TatarNick Suzuki2nd-round pick in 2019 	To Vegas Golden KnightsMax Pacioretty 	
 	To Winnipeg JetsJimmy Oligny 	To Vegas Golden KnightsFuture considerations 	
 	To Minnesota WildBrad Hunt6th-round pick in 2019 	To Vegas Golden KnightsConditional 5th-round pick in 2019	
 	To Ottawa SenatorsErik BrannstromOscar LindbergDAL's 2nd-round pick in 2020	To Vegas Golden KnightsTobias LindbergMark Stone 	
===Free agents===
Date	Player 	Team 	Contract term	Ref
 	Daniel Carr 	from Montreal Canadiens 	1-year 	
 	Zach Fucale 	from Montreal Canadiens 	1-year 	
 	Alex Gallant 	from Tampa Bay Lightning 	1-year 	
 	Nick Holden 	from Boston Bruins 	2-year 	
 	Curtis McKenzie	from Dallas Stars 	2-year 	
 	Jimmy Oligny 	from Milwaukee Admirals (AHL) 	1-year 	
 	David Perron 	to St. Louis Blues 	4-year 	
 	Paul Stastny 	from Winnipeg Jets 	3-year 	
 	James Neal 	to Calgary Flames 	5-year 	
 	Paul Thompson 	to Florida Panthers 	2-year 	
 	Philip Holm 	to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL) 	1-year 	
 	Teemu Pulkkinen	to Dinamo Minsk (KHL) 	1-year 	
 	Luca Sbisa 	to New York Islanders 	1-year 	
 	Jason Garrison 	to Edmonton Oilers 	1-year 	
 	Jimmy Schuldt 	from St. Cloud State Huskies (NCHC)	1-year 	
===Waivers===
Date	Player 	Team 	Ref
 	Valentin Zykov	from Edmonton Oilers	
===Contract terminations===
Date	Player	Via	Ref
 	 	 	
===Retirement===
Date	Player	Ref
 	 	
===Signings===
Date	Player 	Contract term	Ref
 	Maxime Lagace 	1-year 	
 	Brandon Pirri 	1-year 	
 	Ryan Reaves 	2-year 	
 	Oscar Dansk 	2-year 	
 	Colin Miller 	4-year 	
 	Marc-Andre Fleury	3-year 	
 	Tomas Nosek 	1-year 	
 	William Carrier 	2-year 	
 	William Karlsson 	1-year 	
 	Max Pacioretty 	4-year 	
 	Shea Theodore 	7-year 	
 	Alex Tuch 	7-year 	
 	Nate Schmidt 	6-year 	
 	Paul Cotter 	3-year 	
 	Mark Stone 	8-year 	
 	Nikita Gusev 	1-year 	
==Draft picks==
Below are the Vegas Golden Knights' selections at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on June 22 and 23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
Round	# 	Player 	Pos	Nationality 	College/Junior/Club Team (League)
2 	61 	Ivan Morozov 	C 	Russia 	Mamonty Yugry (MHL)
4 	991 	Slava Demin 	D 	United States	Wenatchee Wild (BCHL)
4 	1152	Paul Cotter 	C 	United States	Lincoln Stars (USHL)
5 	1353	Brandon Kruse 	LW 	United States	Bowling Green State University (WCHA)
5 	154 	Connor Corcoran 	D 	Canada 	Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
6 	1804	Peter Diliberatore	D 	Canada 	Salisbury School (USHS)
6 	185 	Xavier Bouchard 	D 	Canada 	Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
7 	2085	Jordan Kooy 	G 	Canada 	London Knights (OHL)
Notes:
# The Vancouver Canucks' fourth-round pick went to the Vegas Golden Knights as the result of a trade on February 23, 2018, that sent Derick Brassard to Pittsburgh in exchange for Ryan Reaves and this pick.
# The Pittsburgh Penguins' fourth-round pick went to the Vegas Golden Knights as the result of a trade on June 21, 2017, that ensured Vegas would select Jason Garrison in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft from Tampa Bay in exchange for Nikita Gusev, a second-round pick in 2017 and this pick.
# The Carolina Hurricanes' fifth-round pick went to the Vegas Golden Knights as the result of a trade on July 4, 2017, that sent Marcus Kruger to Carolina in exchange for this pick.
# The Toronto Maple Leafs' sixth-round pick went to the Vegas Golden Knights as the result of a trade on October 6, 2017, that sent Calvin Pickard to Toronto in exchange for Tobias Lindberg and this pick.
# The Pittsburgh Penguins' seventh-round pick went to the Vegas Golden Knights as the result of a trade on June 23, 2018, that sent a seventh-round pick in 2019 to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.
==References==
Category:Vegas Golden Knights seasons
Vegas Golden Knights