Forget the naysayers, this was a successful Golden Knights road trip

Yet, those early wins were still met with sharp criticisms. They couldn't keep up with teams like the Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, and Toronto Maple Leafs. That also rang true with playing well on the road, You could already hear the chorus of critics regarding Wednesday's loss to Toronto.

"Oh boy... Here we go again..."

"These Golden Knights can't win a road game to save their lives!"

To add insult to injury (literally), the Golden Knights were missing players like Mark Stone and Alex Pietrangelo throughout the majority or the entire trip. That means players like Tomas Hertl and Shea Theodore must step up. Surely, this trip was going to be a stinker, right?

Wrong.

First, the Golden Knights are 6-1-1 in their last eight road games. Yes, that includes that 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. How can you not be impressed with a team that beat McDavid AND Leon Draisaitl? As Joe Biden would say, "C'mon man!"

Second, they've won three straight road games. That includes 14 goals (one earned in a shootout) in those three games, where the offense has erupted. That amounted to six points on the five-game road trip, which equals... a successful road swing!

The Vegas Golden Knights have overcome adversity of the strongest variety

Of course, it hasn't been easy for the Vegas Golden Knights. They've only mustered one first-period goal throughout the five-game road trip, which is concerning. They haven't gotten off to the fastest start, leaving them to pick up the pace.

However, they've picked up the pace later, scoring nine second-period goals. It's been a rolling start for the Golden Knights, who needed players like Shea Theodore to set up prime scoring opportunities. That was on full display on Monday against the Philadelphia Flyers, with this Jack Eichel goal being a perfect example.

Eichel continues his push for the Hart Memorial Trophy with goals like these. He blazes a wrist shot from beyond the faceoff circles past Ivan Fedotov for the Golden Knights's first goal. He also netted the only goal in the shootout, getting two points for his team in the process.

Games like this is what has the Golden Knights in first place, after all. You can't rely solely on an early blitz of goals to win hockey games. This isn't the NFL, where you can run the football down somebody's throat for an early lead and pass if things aren't working. For hockey, peppering the net will eventually lead to goals, which was proven by the road team on Monday.

But it wasn't just true on Monday, though

It also rang true for Saturday's game against the Montreal Canadiens, when the Vegas Golden Knights broke out for five second-period goals. Tomas Hertl got the party started with a second-period goal 4:39 into the period. That's what opened the floodgates, with the Golden Knights adding four more.

When you spend plenty of time in the offensive zone, you're bound to see opportunities come your way. For the Golden Knights, they controlled all three zones in that game, leading to them outshooting the Canadiens, 28-17.

That has been the motif throughout the five-game road trip, too. Control all three zones and wear your opponents down. Sometimes, it's been a combination of the two philosophies, which has led to a goal harvest for the road team.

In turn? It's led to a minimum of six points earned on a five-game road swing. Overall, that means a successful trip away from T-Mobile Arena, regardless of what happens on Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche. If they win? Even better. Those critics will crawl back into the woodworks, where their skepticism will leave an unpleasant odor.