NHL Playoffs 2021: 3 reasons Golden Knights will win the Stanley Cup

2. Emergence of Chandler Stephenson

Before this season, the Vegas Golden Knights had one fatal flaw – they didn’t have much center depth past William Karlsson. Chandler Stephenson must have heard those comments because he has proven himself to be a true, legitimate top-line center. While a debate could be had about which of the Golden Knights’ top two lines are actually their top line, the mere fact that it’s a debate is telling.

Stephenson has formed a dangerous trio with the eternally underrated Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty. As a trio, they have spent 442:10 together at 5v5. The Knights have outscored opponents 38 to 17 with those three players on the ice. While they are outperforming their expected goals by a fair bit, the trio is still in the green as far as expected goals are concerned and considering how skilled Stone and Pacioretty are, it’s not surprising at all they’ve outperformed their expected goals.

The emergence of Stephenson has taken the pressure off their second top line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, and Reilly Smith. While they haven’t been as dominant as they usually are, they’ve still been pretty darn good. The trio has a history of putting up points in the playoffs, so Golden Knights fans should be optimistic about their chances of stepping up in the postseason.