3 keys to Knights’ impressive start under Bruce Cassidy

The Golden Knights’ grins were spread wide across the visiting locker room Tuesday night at SAP Center as they posed for a photo commemorating Phil Kessel’s record-setting 990th consecutive game played.

The Knights were ecstatic all week to celebrate their popular new teammate and his accomplishment. To do so with two wins against Toronto and San Jose made things even better.

The photo captured the Knights’ mood perfectly eight games into their 82-game season. They’re winning again after missing the playoffs last season. And they’re having fun doing so.

The Knights’ six victories are tied for the most in the NHL with Boston. Their 6-2 record is tied with Carolina for third-best, behind the Bruins (6-1) and Calgary (5-1). Owner Bill Foley said last week he’s standing by his “Cup in six” prediction. His team is giving him no reason to back down.

“We’re playing well; we’re getting it done,” Kessel said. “Hopefully we just keep it going.”

Here are three reasons for the hot start:

1. Zoned in

One of first-year coach Bruce Cassidy’s calling cards is his stingy zone defense that attempts to keep opponents away from the middle of the ice and force shots from distance.

The Knights are still working out some kinks. It’s a departure from what they were doing under previous coach Pete DeBoer, when they were assigned a specific man to defend. But they’ve adapted fast.

The Knights are allowing the fewest goals per game in the NHL (2) because Cassidy’s system is working as expected. They’re giving up the 10th-fewest high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes at five-on-five, according to the website Natural Stat Trick.

That’s helping goaltenders Logan Thompson and Adin Hill by giving them easier saves. Hill has the 10th-best save percentage in the NHL (.935), and Thompson ranks 12th (.931). That’s a sign things are clicking in the defensive zone.

“The guys are doing a great job in front of us,” Hill said. “We’re keeping chances to a minimum.”

2. Disciplined effort

The Knights’ clear low point was a six-penalty second period in Calgary on Oct. 18 that caused them to cough up a 2-0 lead.

It was undeniably an ugly 20 minutes. It was also an extreme outlier compared with how the team has played its 23 other periods.

The Knights’ 2.5 penalties taken per 60 minutes is the best in the NHL. They’ve been called for the second-fewest penalties overall (20) despite being tied for the second-most games played. They are also tied for 17th in penalties drawn (28) after ranking last a season ago.

The team is still working to translate that edge to the scoreboard. The Knights are even on special teams, with five power-play goals for and against. The fact that they’re keeping games at five-on-five is still a win. They’ve outscored teams 19-11 there through eight games.

“Our discipline has been pretty good with the exception of a period in Calgary,” Cassidy said. “That has to remain the same.”

3. Health

This is the part where the Knights knock on whatever’s within arm’s reach.

Last season was wrecked by injuries. This season, while not perfect, has been about as good as the team could have asked for.

The Knights knew that center Nolan Patrick, defenseman Shea Weber and goaltender Robin Lehner wouldn’t play while on long-term injured reserve. They were aware goaltender Laurent Brossoit would need time to recover from offseason hip surgery. Other than those players, almost no one has missed time.

Left wing William Carrier sat out the opener in Los Angeles with a midbody injury. Defenseman Nic Hague missed the game because he had just signed an extension the day before. That’s the last time Cassidy was forced into a lineup decision. He’s had his full complement of skaters available every other game.

Center Jake Leschyshyn hasn’t played, and defenseman Ben Hutton has appeared once because there hasn’t been an opening. It’s a far better problem for the Knights to have than the ones they dealt with last season.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.