Ryan Craig Keeps Vegas’ Fast Start Rolling as Newcomers Add a Different Look

(Photo Credit: Vegas Golden Knights on YouTube)

Vegas has carried a reliable early-season habit into a new coaching era: the Golden Knights have collected at least 11 points through their first eight games for five seasons in a row. Ryan Craig’s first stretch behind the bench is following that pattern, with a 6-2-0 record and 12 points after eight games in 2026-27. The result keeps Vegas in the Pacific Division’s top two at this stage for the fifth consecutive season.

That continuity is striking because the team has reached it with a different bench leader and a roster that has found room for fresh contributors. The fast start resembles the standard set under Bruce Cassidy, but Craig has had to establish his own approach while managing a group that is giving younger and newer players meaningful chances. So far, the standings show that the transition hasn’t slowed the team’s opening pace.

A familiar opening, season after season

The Golden Knights’ first-eight-game records tell the story of a sustained run, rather than one exceptional start. In 2022-23, they went 6-2-0 for 12 points and a plus-10 goal differential. The following season brought a 7-0-1 record, 15 points and a plus-14 differential. Vegas then earned 11 points in 2024-25, before taking 12 in 2025-26 and again in 2026-27.

• 2022-23: 6-2-0, 12 points, plus-10 goal differential
• 2023-24: 7-0-1, 15 points, plus-14 goal differential
• 2024-25: 5-2-1, 11 points, plus-10 goal differential
• 2025-26: 5-1-2, 12 points, plus-6 goal differential
• 2026-27: 6-2-0, 12 points, plus-10 goal differential

Those records don’t mean each season has unfolded the same way. They do show how consistently Vegas has banked points before the schedule has had time to develop. A strong October doesn’t settle what a team will be by spring, but it gives the Golden Knights an early cushion and sets a familiar benchmark: keep collecting results while the roster finds its rhythm.

New contributors are changing the mix

Nine of Vegas’ 29 goals have come from players who weren’t with the team last season or who had a part-time role. Braeden Bowman and Trevor Connelly are among the names shaping that impression. Their presence can make the lineup look younger and quicker, though the Golden Knights are still the NHL’s fifth-oldest team. The visual change, then, comes from who is getting involved, rather than a dramatic shift in the roster’s average age.

Craig’s handling of the lineup is part of that story. He has distributed opportunities, and players who have made the most of them have earned reasons to keep contributing. For a team with established veterans, finding useful minutes for newcomers can add options without asking the group to abandon what already works. The early goal total from those players suggests that the chances have produced results.

Craig pointed to what Bowman and Connelly had shown before receiving those opportunities. “There’s a lot of trust in all of our players and yet some guys get that opportunity,” he said. He noted Bowman’s preseason play and Connelly’s work at the American Hockey League level, then described the moment both faced when presented with a chance: “at that point, it’s a one-on-one with the goalie.” Craig said he thought they handled those chances well.

That explanation offers a useful glimpse at his approach. Trust is the starting point, but performance gives players a chance to take on more. A young player’s successful one-on-one can finish a play; a sustained run of good work can also give a coach more confidence in where that player fits. The next challenge for Bowman, Connelly and the rest of the group is to keep turning those openings into contributions as opponents get more tape on them.

The next stretch can test the pace

Vegas is set to host three teams over the coming week. Calgary is the first opponent in the source schedule, and the Flames enter that matchup with a difficult profile: they allow the most goals per game and score the second-fewest in the league. Those rankings make the game an opportunity for Vegas, but they don’t guarantee an easy night. A strong start only matters if the Golden Knights keep doing the work against teams with different strengths and weaknesses.

The franchise’s best opening through 15 games gives Craig’s team a clear point of comparison. The 2023-24 club opened 7-0-0 and reached 12-2-1 through its first 15 matches. Vegas can’t repeat that exact seven-game start this season after already taking two losses, but matching the 12-2-1 mark through 15 remains possible. The upcoming home games will help show whether this year’s group can stay on that pace.

Craig’s start is already tracking with the early success Vegas produced under Cassidy. The more revealing measure will be whether the team can extend that consistency while integrating contributors who are still establishing their place in the lineup. For now, the Golden Knights have points in the bank, nine goals from a changing cast of players and a chance to keep the franchise’s strong opening run alive.

The original piece also cited a RotoGrinders ranking that placed Craig second among NHL coaches in a “handsome” list, while Cassidy didn’t make the top ten. It’s a playful aside, not a hockey measure; the more meaningful test of Craig’s first season will come in the games ahead, where his lineup choices and Vegas’ ability to sustain its results will carry the story.

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