Golden Knights’ Shot Volume Sets Early Pace as Eichel, Hertl Lead Vegas

(Photo Credit: @BR_OpenIce on X/Twitter)

Vegas is building its early offense around volume, and its top players are doing much of the shooting. The Golden Knights have 279 shots through nine games, the most in the NHL at this point, and are averaging 31 shots on goal per game. That pace has them tracking toward 2,604 shots over the season, which would be their highest total across the past five seasons.

The comparison comes with a small sample caveat: Vegas is one of four teams to have played nine games. Still, its current rate stands out beside the club’s recent totals. The Golden Knights finished eighth in the league with 2,337 shots last season, while their previous four season totals ranged from 2,377 to 2,587.

Vegas’ shot totals by season

• 2022-23: 2,587 shots on goal
• 2023-24: 2,548 shots on goal
• 2024-25: 2,482 shots on goal
• 2025-26: 2,377 shots on goal
• 2026-27: 2,604 shots on goal at the current pace

Jack Eichel is at the center of that attack. He has 28 shots on goal, sixth-most in the NHL, and leads Vegas in the early push toward the net. Tomas Hertl, Mitch Marner and Mark Stone are also among the Golden Knights’ leading shooters. The pattern fits a team trying to turn possession into repeated chances instead of waiting for a perfect look.

Wrist shots have been a major part of the scoring mix. Vegas scored 122 wrist-shot goals last season, and it ranks among the league’s top five in wrist shots released and top 10 in wrist-shot goals so far this year. Through nine games, wrist shots account for 28% of the team’s offense. Hertl has four wrist-shot goals and Eichel has three.

Marner has put 13 wrist shots on goal, making the shot a regular part of his early work with Vegas. Victor Olofsson is the only Golden Knight who has yet to record a wrist shot this season, but he had scored four goals before his injury. His absence also matters in the snap-shot numbers, where he leads the club with three goals.

Wrist-shot production

• Tomas Hertl: 12 shots on goal, 4 goals
• Jack Eichel: 15 shots on goal, 3 goals
• Braeden Bowman: 5 shots on goal, 1 goal
• Trevor Connelly: 5 shots on goal, 1 goal
• Noah Hanifin: 4 shots on goal, 1 goal

The snap shot is another key part of the attack. Vegas has recorded 79 snap shots on goal through nine games, with the source figures listing 15 that have gone in. Rookie Trevor Connelly leads the team with nine snap shots on goal. The club’s separate breakdown credits 17 goals to snap shots, nearly 43% of its total, so the two figures don’t line up exactly. Either way, the scoring list shows how broadly that shot has contributed.

Snap-shot production

• Victor Olofsson: 7 shots on goal, 3 goals
• Mark Stone: 6 shots on goal, 2 goals
• William Karlsson: 5 shots on goal, 2 goals
• Mitch Marner: 4 shots on goal, 2 goals
• Trevor Connelly: 9 shots on goal, 1 goal
• Jack Eichel: 7 shots on goal, 1 goal
• Shea Theodore: 4 shots on goal, 1 goal
• Braeden Bowman: 3 shots on goal, 1 goal
• Brett Howden: 3 shots on goal, 1 goal
• Marc Gatcomb: 3 shots on goal, 1 goal

The rest of Vegas’ 35 goals are spread across several shot types. Mark Stone has scored twice with slap shots, and Rasmus Andersson has added one. Stone’s second came from well inside the blue line. Slap shots have been less common, in part because many don’t reach the net: opponents have blocked 114 Vegas attempts, with the article pointing to slap shots as a frequent source of those blocks.

Other goals by shot type

• Mark Stone: 2 slap-shot goals
• Rasmus Andersson: 1 slap-shot goal
• Mark Stone: 1 backhand goal
• Brett Howden: 1 deflection goal
• Victor Olofsson: 1 deflection goal
• Trevor Connelly: 1 tipped-in goal
• Jack Eichel: 1 tipped-in goal
• Brett Howden: 1 tipped-in goal
• Mark Stone: 1 tipped-in goal

Ryan Craig’s group is getting early returns from a plan built on shooting more often, with the extra attempts coming from prominent forwards. That makes the pace worth watching as the schedule grows and the sample gets larger. For now, Eichel, Hertl, Marner and Stone are setting the tone, while Connelly is already making his mark in the snap-shot totals.

Ivan Barbashev is the notable counterpoint in the article’s account: he’s a top-line winger, but the author wants him to take more shots instead of adding assists. If Vegas keeps generating attempts at this rate, getting Barbashev to join the shooting mix could give the attack another route to sustain its pressure.

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