Without strong goaltending, Golden Knights' hot start will cool off fast

The Vegas Golden Knights, for better or for worse, have captured the attention of the hockey world early in their maiden voyage, jumping out to a 6-1 record - the most successful start to a franchise's inaugural campaign in the 100-year history of the NHL.

Whether you're a skeptic or a fan, the product in Vegas is about to be tested mightily, as replacement starting goaltender Malcolm Subban joined Marc-Andre Fleury on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

The optics of the situation are quite simple: An NHL team lost two goalies to injury, so they must be screwed. But when looking at how reliant Vegas has been on strong goaltending through its first eight games, it appears unusually obvious that the Golden Knights' unforeseen early success is about to come to a screeching halt.

The options

First off, let's look at who Vegas will roll with in goal while Fleury and Subban are on the shelf.

After Subban was pulled from Saturday's contest, he was replaced by Oscar Dansk, who stopped 10 of 11 shots to lock down an overtime win over St. Louis in his NHL debut.

Dansk, 23, was a second-round pick of the Blue Jackets in 2012, and had a save percentage of .903 in 24 games with Rogle BK of the Swedish league last year. He'll be the starter from here.

Who will back him up? That duty's been bestowed upon Maxime Lagace, an undrafted 24-year-old called up from the AHL's Chicago Wolves. Lagace doesn't have any NHL experience, and in 32 games with the Texas Stars last season, he managed an 11-12-2 record with an .883 save percentage and a 3.56 goals-against average. Yikes.

The numbers

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

The numbers propping up the Golden Knights' hot start don't appear to be very sustainable. Vegas owns the seventh-highest PDO (shooting percentage plus save percentage) in the NHL at 103.13. That number typically moves closer to 100 as the season wears on, and should take a hit sooner than later considering Fleury and Subban combined for a sky-high .936 save clip early on.

At five-on-five, Vegas also owns the league's second-worst Corsi differential at minus-47 and the worst expected goals-for percentage at 42.14, according to Corsica. Relying on this team to continue scoring so efficiently doesn't seem like a very safe bet.

That's without even mentioning that three of the Golden Knights' wins have come in overtime, and they've only outshot their opponents in two of eight contests.

The (long) road ahead

No matter which way you slice it, six wins in eight games is six wins in eight games. However, Vegas benefited from a favorable early schedule that featured two games versus the lowly Coyotes, and one game each against the Red Wings and Sabres.

Up next, though, Vegas plays two games at home before an eight-of-nine stretch on the road that includes stops in Boston, Ottawa, and Toronto. It's not going to be easy.

The Golden Knights have certainly done better than many expected early on, and they want it to be recognized:

will everyone start taking this team seriously now?

- Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 22, 2017

But given the unfavorable underlying numbers and two long-term injuries at the most integral position on the ice, it appears the clock may have struck midnight on the franchise's historic debut.

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