from Rory Boylen of Sportsnet,

So as Vegas is off to a slower 7-8-1 start in 2018-19, it’d be wise to not draw any conclusions about their demise too early. Sure, many expected Vegas to regress in some ways, but not to this degree as a team. The Golden Knights are 26th in the NHL with more games played than anyone else behind them.

So what has happened out of the gate?

There are a number of factors at play, and here we’ll highlight six of them:

THE SCHEDULE
Remember the Vegas Flu? The Golden Knights won 19 of their first 23 home games and were tough to beat there all season long. They were 5-3 at home in the playoffs, dropping their final two games at T-Mobile Arena to the Washington Capitals....

This season was a bit more of a challenge. After playing one home game to start, Vegas went on an eight-day, five-game road trip over which time they scored just eight goals. They did come home for five straight after that from Oct. 16-28 — and won four of them — but six of their next seven games after that are roadies. Saturday’s game in Montreal is the second-last stop on this trip.

Vegas is 4-2-1 at home so far this season and 3-6-0 on the road right now, so the fact they had a less favourable start to the schedule in 2018-19 is one reason they are slower out of the gate in Year 2.

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