Golden Knights Used Fewest D-Pairs But Most Forward Line Combos Since 2021-22

2024-25 will go down in the record books as one of the healthiest seasons in Golden Knights history. They made it through the entire season using six defensemen 67 games or more, and only used nine total D-men. Three players reached 82 games and 12 played at least 70.

It manifested itself in a Pacific Division championship and the most continuity the team has had in a long time. In terms of line/pair combinations, the continuity showed up on the back end. Not as much with the forwards, though.

Forward Lines Used
2024-25: 89
2023-24: 75
2022-23: 66

Defense Pairs Used
2024-25: 18
2023-24: 27
2022-23: 19

89 forward line combinations is the most VGK have used since 2021-22 when Pete DeBoer rolled out an astronomical 108 different combos. This year’s number included 40 lines that were used just once and another 26 that were featured fewer than five times.

Tanner Laczynski goes into the books as the “Nomad of the Year,” having played eight games with the Golden Knights on eight different lines. Mark Stone on the other hand participated in 66 games and also played on eight separate forward lines.

William Karlsson’s number jumps off the page more than any other player, having played on a new line once every three games. It can be a bit of a chicken or the egg situation, but there’s a pretty strong argument that his lack of consistent wingers played a part in the worst statistical season of his VGK career. The same can be said for players like Alex Holtz, Cole Schwindt, and even Nic Roy and Reilly Smith.

VGK used a defenseman as a forward on two separate occasions, which also slightly skews the numbers. Both times they tried it, it went poorly, so hopefully they get the hint for 2025-26 to leave guys in their natural position.

The continuity on defense was astounding considering VGK’s past. And, the numbers could have been even smaller if it weren’t for some experimentation early in the season. Bruce Cassidy wanted to try Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore together to open the year, and it led to a few extra combos that only got a few games together. Most of the season, and much of the playoffs, the standard group of Pietrangelo/Hanifin, McNabb/Theodore, and Hague/Whitecloud was used.

The link between D-pair continuity and team success is not hard to see. In VGK’s four Pacific Division-winning seasons, they’ve used fewer than 20 different D-Pairs. In the four years they failed to win, they used more than 20 in all but one (the 56 game season).