The Vegas Golden Knights are off to a strong start in 2024-25.
However, the 2023 Stanley Cup Champions will be without their biggest off-season acquisition, Victor Olofsson, for some time as he’s week-to-week with a lower-body injury.
The Golden Knights signed the 29-year-old winger to a low-risk, high-reward one-year contract this past off-season worth $1.075 million. It’s clear that the Knights are banking on his 2021-22 and 2022-23 form, rather than his 2023-24 form. The Sweden native scored a career-high 28 goals in 2022-23, as well as a career-high 49 points in 2021-22.
So far so good, as he scored three goals in his first four games of the season.
Last season with the Buffalo Sabres, the team that selected Olofsson in the seventh round of the 2014 draft, he scored just seven goals and 15 points in 51 games. 
It’s presumed the injury occurred after crashing into the boards early in the third period last Tuesday, with Olofsson missing Vegas’ last two games.

Alexis Lafrenière out day-to-day

Speaking of an injured winger, Alexis Lafrenière is on the shelf for the New York Rangers, as he has an upper-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
Lafrenière was selected first overall in the 2020 draft by the Rangers. After three seasons of sub-par results for a first-overall pick, never reaching 20 goals or 40 points, the 23-year-old broke out in 2023-24, scoring 28 goals and 57 points in 82 games, along with eight goals and 14 points in 16 postseason games.
The winger was off to a great start in 2024-25, scoring three goals and six points in five games. It’s unclear how he sustained the injury.

Devils will get some reinforcements soon

Although defencemen Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce won’t play on Tuesday, both players will join the Devils’ lineup soon.
Pesce was selected in the third round of the 2013 draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, spending all nine of his National Hockey League seasons with the team while scoring 39 goals and 198 points in 627 games. This past off-season, the right-shot defenceman signed a six-year, $33 million deal with an annual cap hit of $5.5 million.
Luke Hughes, brother of reigning Norris Trophy winner Quinn and teammate Jack, was selected fourth overall in the 2021 draft. The left-shot defenceman became a mainstay in the Devils’ lineup in 2023-24, scoring nine goals and 47 points in 82 games.
Despite missing an entire pair on the backend, the Devils lead the league with 11 points in eight games for a .688 point percentage, ninth in the league.

Ross Colton stepping up for the floundering Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche are without a handful of top-nine forwards — Valeri Nichushkin, Gabriel Landeskog, and Artturi Lehkonen — but one depth player who has stepped up in their absence is Ross Colton, scoring six goals and seven points in six games this season. Last season, his first in Denver, he scored 17 goals and a career-high 40 points in 80 games.
On Monday’s Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Colby Cohen spoke about the impact Colton has had this season.
 Tyler Yaremchuk: We talked a lot about how it was only the big guns producing for the Avalanche. Well, Ross Colton, yes, he got elevated to that top line but still, the Avalanche or are looking for anything. They can’t be picky right now. He’s up to six goals in six games on the year after popping four over the weekend.
But there is still the conversation now of Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen and Nathan McKinnon have combined for eight goals. Ross Colton now has six. Outside of those four, the rest of the roster only has seven. When you look at their line chart on Daily Faceoff, it’s a whole bunch of guys that even I sit there and go “Who? Wait, who? And who’s that?”
The Avalanche have some legitimate depth concerns. Shout out to Ross Colton for an unbelievable weekend as I name him my Weekend Warrior then slag on the rest of his teammates, but for the Avalanche it could get late early for them. I know they’re holding their breath because Artturi Lehkonen could come back and Valeri Nichushkin is eventually back and maybe one day even Gabriel Landeskog returns to the lineup, but if you sit there hoping and wishing and waiting, it could be American Thanksgiving and you’re behind the eight ball pretty significantly.
Colby Cohen: And I think Nichushkin has entered step three of his recovery, he’s back on the ice in Colorado. So that’s a positive step, something that you love to see because he instantly changes that line up when he gets back. He seems like a guy who stirs it up for that group. He brings you big support. He can play down the middle. He’s one of those do-it-all types of players. Almost like Nazem Kadri was when he was in Colorado a couple of years ago.
So Ross Colton, local product, grew up not that far from me. So I got to give him some love being an Atlantic District kid. And he’s just made a living on the power play. You play with those types of players, you better make it count because he’s a guy who played with some stars in Tampa Bay, he comes over to Colorado, and now he plays with a different group of stars and he’s making the most of his opportunity.”
If you enjoy my content, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.

SPONSORED BY bet365