The Vegas Golden Knights’ next two games against the San Jose Sharks have been postponed. The National Hockey League announced the postponement today as a result of four team personnel entering the COVID protocol.
The NHL is posponing the Vegas at San Jose games scheduled for Monday and Wednesday next week. Three members of the #VGK coaching staff are currently in isolation while defenceman Alex Pietrangelo is on the COVID Protocol absence list as well.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) January 29, 2021
Vegas Golden Knights Games Postponed
The Golden Knights’ first doubleheader against the San Jose Sharks was due to start on Monday, February 1st. The second game was scheduled for Wednesday, February 3rd. These are Vegas’ second and third games postponed by the league; the first being against the St Louis Blues, which was due to take place yesterday. Whilst the initial update cited one player and a member of staff entering the COVID protocol on Thursday, the number has risen to three coaching staff members and a player today; newly acquired defenseman, Alex Pietrangelo, is the player in question.
What This Means Going Forward
So far, there has been a total of 11 games postponed this season, most (eight) of which have been Central division matchups; the rest involve the Golden Knights. The NHL is fairly strained by the COVID complications at this stage. The Florida Panthers, Dallas Stars, Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning each have around 54 games to play in 102 days. The Golden Knights are sure to have a similar schedule build up if these postponements continue into next weekend.
On the ice, Vegas has started the season extremely well. They currently rank in the top five in the league in expected goals rate, high danger chances and Corsi percentage. Mark Stone leads the team in points (2 goals and nine assists) while Max Pacioretty is the leading scorer with six goals. Vegas is top of the Western Division with a 5-1-1 record. Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks are stuck in the basement of the division. They were recently swept by the Colorado Avalanche and have won three out of eight contests this season. Martin Jones has struggled in net with a .871 save percentage in 5 games.
The Golden Knights are next due to play at home on Friday, January 5th against the Los Angeles Kings. The San Jose Sharks, on the other hand, will head out on the road to play the Anaheim Ducks for the first time this season. Their next game is also scheduled for next Friday.
