Four games are nowhere near enough to define an NHL season. They are enough, however, to provide the first clues about what the Vegas Golden Knights might become.
One week into their 10th season, the Golden Knights are 3-1-0 after victories over Chicago, Vancouver and Seattle, with their only loss coming against Anaheim. More important than the record is how Vegas has arrived there.
Ryan Craig has begun putting his fingerprints on the team. The power play has produced every night. Jack Eichel is already driving the offense, while some of Vegas' less celebrated forwards are establishing roles. And Mark Stone provided an early reminder that leadership inside this organization still extends well beyond the scoresheet.
Plenty of corrections will come over an 84-game schedule. But after four games and one week, five storylines have already separated themselves.
1. Ryan Craig's Knights Beginning To Take Shape
Craig emphasized during training camp that Vegas was "starting over," and the first week has provided glimpses of what that means. His stated goal was a five-man attack with more offensively involved defensemen, while maintaining the structure that has traditionally made Vegas difficult to play against.
The Anaheim loss provided the first adversity. Vegas fell behind 4-0 before making it a one-goal game, but Craig and his players understood that resilience could not excuse the execution that created the deficit.
The response mattered. Vegas went on the road and won in Vancouver, then overwhelmed Seattle 6-2. The Golden Knights looked connected, received contributions throughout the lineup and managed the game rather than chasing it.
Four games don't establish an identity. They can reveal whether one is beginning to form.
2. Power Play Looks Different - And Dangerous
Perhaps the clearest early statistical development has come with the man advantage.
Vegas has scored a power-play goal in each of its first four games, something the franchise has never done to begin a season. Tomas Hertl punctuated the streak with two power-play goals Tuesday in Seattle.
The significance goes beyond four consecutive games.
Craig's staff entered the season looking for ways to deploy Eichel differently, including creating more opportunities for him to shoot rather than simply orchestrate. Vegas also needed to compensate for the absence of Pavel Dorofeyev's finishing ability.
So far, the puck movement has created options rather than dependence on one scorer. Hertl's presence around the net remains valuable, while Eichel can threaten as both a distributor and a shooter.
Special teams fluctuate. But this looks less like an early hot streak and more like a unit developing multiple ways to attack.
3. Jack Eichel Driving Everything
Any preseason concern about a quiet start from Vegas' No. 1 center disappeared almost immediately.
Eichel produced five points in the first two games and continued rolling through the opening week. His performance in Seattle pushed his season-opening point streak to four games and gave him nine points through four contests.
More important is how involved he has been in virtually every area of Vegas' offense.
Eichel is creating at even strength, impacting the power play and turning defensive sequences into offense. His assist on Stone's shorthanded goal in Seattle was another example. Vegas began the second period killing a penalty with a 2-0 lead; instead of merely surviving, Eichel helped turn the kill into a three-goal advantage.
There will be quieter stretches over a long season. In one week, however, Vegas' best offensive player has looked exactly like it.
4. The fourth line is becoming something
Championship-caliber teams eventually need a fourth line that owns an identity rather than simply absorbing minutes.
Vegas may be starting to find one.
The early emphasis has been straightforward: pressure, physicality, responsible shifts and enough offensive-zone time to make opponents work. Marc Gatcomb has become part of that personality, and Tuesday's game in Seattle showed the competitive edge Vegas wants from its depth.
When Ryan Winterton hit Trevor Connelly in the third period, Gatcomb immediately answered by dropping the gloves. It came after Stone had already fought Brandon Montour, and Craig pointed toward the reaction throughout the lineup as evidence of teammates responding for one another.
The fourth line doesn't need to produce highlight-reel offense every night.
It needs to forecheck, create energy, protect momentum and give Craig trustworthy minutes.
Through four games, that identity is becoming recognizable.
5. Mark Stone still establishes the standard
Stone's night in Seattle might ultimately become one of those early-season performances remembered less for the statistics than for what it represented.
He scored shorthanded, added an assist and reached 400 points as a Golden Knight. Then, with Vegas comfortably ahead, Stone fought Brandon Montour and completed a Gordie Howe hat trick.
The reaction afterward said everything.
Craig pointed to the "C" on Stone's sweater. Rasmus Andersson praised his willingness to do the dirty work. Eichel reduced it to three words: "He's our leader."
Vegas has changed coaches. The roster continues evolving. Younger players are being integrated, and Eichel has become the offensive centerpiece.
But Stone remains the emotional thermostat.
One week into a new season under a new coach, Vegas already has several developing storylines. Its most familiar one hasn't changed at all.
The Golden Knights still follow their captain.
PHOTO CAPTION
Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) celebrates his goal in the third period against the Anaheim Ducks at T-Mobile Arena.
