"Friday Knight hiLights": Hertl's Offense, Sin Bin Calls It A Typical January, Granger Grades Players, Former Knights Numbers

LAS VEGAS -- Welcome to "Friday Knight hiLights," a new Friday column covering the Vegas Golden Knights, as we'll catch up with something currently taking place with the team, a glance at what former Knights are doing around the league, and some insight around the team from other beat writers in Las Vegas.

This week's highlight has to be with Tomáš Hert, who comes into Friday's game in Dallas with at least one point in seven straight games.

Hertl, who had an empty-net goal in Thursday's 4-2 win in St. Louis, has 11 points during the seven-game stretch, with six goals and five assists.

His 3.5 shots on goal per game and 24% shooting percentage during the seven-game span is a drastic improvement from the previous 41 games, during which he had 2.2 shots per contest and a 12% shooting percentage.

Hertl has taken some time to get used to transitioning from center and wing, something he did while playing in San Jose, and has finally found a groove in doing so with coach Bruce Cassidy's system and a cast of very talented Knights.

"I’m kind of used to it," Hertl told Las Vegas Sun beat writer Jack Williams. "This system is a little different than any I’ve played in my entire career if it’s wing or center, but otherwise, I don’t mind going up and down.

"I’ve gotten a lot better in my game. I’ve learned that this is still a new team, but I’ve really settled in."

Hertl's offensive surge has been nice to see, even though the Golden Knights just endured a 1-5-1 skid. They snapped a four-game slide with last night's win in St. Louis.

Hertl currently ranks fourth on the team with 37 points, while his 17 goals are second-highest behind Pavel Dorofeyev (21).

"When you score a couple of goals, everybody has a lot more confidence, and you try more stuff," Hertl also told Williams. "It definitely feels nice, but I’m looking for more to win hockey games for our team than scoring my points."

The Knights will get a chance at a second straight win Friday in Dallas against former coach Peter DeBoer. Vegas won the first meeting on Dec. 6, a 3-2 decision at T-Mobile Arena.

ON THE BEAT

From Sin Bin's Ken Boehlke: "Hot Start Followed By Slow January Is Nothing New For Golden Knights, February Is The Real Decider"

From Associated Press' Mark Anderson: "Eichel having career year as he hopes to lead the Golden Knights to Cup contention"

From Review Journal's Danny Webster: "How Knights’ faceoff struggles have fed into losing streak: ‘It’s hurt us’"

From Review-Journal's Ed Graney: "Knights need to stop beating themselves in ‘dog January’"

From The Athletic's Jesse Granger: "Golden Knights midseason report card: Grading every Vegas player’s performance"

From The Sporting Tribune's Steve Carp: "Fleury still has fond memories of his time in Vegas"

FORMER KNIGHTS

Washington netminder Logan Thompson is having a Vezina-like campaign for the Capitals, as he's 22-2-3 on the year. His 2.09 goals-against average and .925 save percentage both rank second highest in the NHL among netminders with at least 25 games played. He's currently enjoying a 5-0 run.

Minnesota goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has won four of his last five starts and boasts a 2.15 goals-against average and .932 save percentage. Fleury, the second-all-time winningest goaltender in NHL history, now has 571 wins.

Montreal's Nick Suzuki has 47 points for the Montreal Canadiens, with 14 goals and 33 assists.

Nashville's Jonathan Marchessault has overcome a sluggish start to the season, with just 13 points in the first 28 games. Since Dec. 10, Marchessault ranks 12th with 25 points over his last 19 games.

Ottawa's David Perron returned to the ice for the first time since Nov. 23 when he skated for the Senators during Thursday's 2-0 loss in Boston.

Seattle's Chandler Stephenson has had a bump in offensive production since the calendar turn to 2025, as he's got 10 points in the last 11 games, with five goals and five assists for the Kraken. The .909 points per game average the last 11 games is better than his .621 clip over the first 37 games.

New Jersey's Paul Cotter ranks ninth in the league with a team-high 161 hits.