Empty-Net Lab · Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas Golden Knights Goalie Pull Tracker
When the Golden Knights pull the goalie down one and down two, how that compares with the rest of the league and with past coaches, what happens while the net is empty at both ends, and who is on the ice for it.
When the Golden Knights pull the goalie, 2025-26
Share of late deficits with the goalie pulled, by time left in the 3rd period
When the Golden Knights pull the goalie, 2025-26. VGK down 1: half pulled by 1:51 remaining, 23% pulled with 2:00 left (27 trailing spells); VGK down 2: half pulled by 3:14 remaining, 90% pulled with 2:00 left (20 trailing spells); NHL down 1: half pulled by 2:00 remaining, 51% pulled with 2:00 left (831 trailing spells).
Golden Knights goalie pulls by coach
| Coach | Seasons | Median pull, down 1 | Pulled by 2:00 | Median pull, down 2 | Tied it, down 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Craig(small sample) | 2026-27 | 2:20 (1) | 100% | – (1) | 0 / 1 |
| Bruce Cassidy | 2022-23 to 2025-26 | 1:51 (89) | 27% | 2:36 (66) | 12 / 55 |
| Peter DeBoer | 2019-20 to 2021-22 | 1:44 (52) | 19% | 2:40 (38) | 7 / 34 |
| Gerard Gallant | 2017-18 to 2019-20 | 1:54 (54) | 45% | 2:14 (46) | 7 / 38 |
Regular season since 2017-18, every club of the franchise. In brackets: late deficits behind the median; coaches with fewer than 10 are a small sample.
Golden Knights season by season
| Season | Median pull, down 1 | Median pull, down 2 | 6v5 time | GF pulled | ENG against | ENG for | GA vs extra attacker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | 2:20 (1) | – (1) | 2:20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025-26 | 1:51 (27) | 3:14 (20) | 44:49 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 5 |
| 2024-25 | 1:53 (19) | 2:35 (12) | 37:46 | 5 | 6 | 22 | 5 |
| 2023-24 | 1:43 (24) | 2:36 (22) | 35:48 | 2 | 14 | 17 | 7 |
| 2022-23 | 1:58 (19) | 2:22 (12) | 35:31 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 7 |
| 2021-22 | 1:45 (30) | 2:41 (24) | 47:29 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 4 |
| 2020-21 | 1:28 (16) | 2:39 (12) | 20:31 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| 2019-20 | 1:54 (17) | 2:14 (13) | 27:58 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 5 |
| 2018-19 | 2:04 (22) | 1:50 (19) | 32:32 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 3 |
| 2017-18 | 1:48 (21) | 2:38 (16) | 26:38 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 5 |
Who is on the ice for the Golden Knights, 2025-26
Extra attacker (6-on-5)
- Tomas Hertl41:52 · 93%
- Pavel Dorofeyev40:53 · 91%
- Mitch Marner40:13 · 90%
- Jack Eichel34:45 · 94%
- Mark Stone30:17 · 87%
- Shea Theodore28:31 · 80%
- Noah Hanifin13:55 · 32%
- Ivan Barbashev12:43 · 28%
Empty-net defense
- Brayden McNabb21:40 · 72%
- Shea Theodore17:29 · 58%
- Jack Eichel14:02 · 42%
- Mitch Marner12:42 · 37%
- Ivan Barbashev12:04 · 32%
- Noah Hanifin10:15 · 35%
- Mark Stone9:40 · 36%
- Tomas Hertl9:36 · 26%
Empty-net goals
- Tomas Hertl2 G, 2 A
- Mark Stone2 G, 0 A
- William Karlsson1 G, 2 A
- Brayden McNabb1 G, 1 A
- Shea Theodore1 G, 1 A
- Cole Smith1 G, 0 A
- Ivan Barbashev1 G, 0 A
- Jack Eichel0 G, 2 A
% = share of the team's time in that situation in the games the player dressed. Empty-net defense time is where empty-net goals come from.
Recent Golden Knights goalie pulls
| Date | Opponent | Down | Pulled with | Time pulled | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2 | ANA | 1 | 2:20 | 2:20 | No goal |
| Mar 24 | WPG | 2 | 4:18 | 3:00 | Empty-net goal against |
| Mar 21 | NSH | 3+ | 4:48 | 4:48 | No goal |
| Mar 19 | UTA | 3+ | 2:23 | 1:35 | Empty-net goal against |
| Mar 17 | BUF | 1 | 1:29 | 0:31 | Empty-net goal against |
| Mar 10 | DAL | 1 | 1:50 | 1:50 | No goal |
| Mar 8 | EDM | 1 | 2:33 | 0:36 | Empty-net goal against |
| Mar 6 | MIN | 2 | 1:56 | 1:35 | No goal |
| Mar 3 | BUF | 1 | 1:31 | 1:31 | No goal |
| Feb 27 | WSH | 1 | 1:51 | 1:51 | No goal |
| Feb 1 | ANA | 1 | 1:54 | 0:47 | Empty-net goal against |
| Feb 1 | ANA | 2 | 0:39 | 0:33 | Scored |
FAQ
When do the Golden Knights pull their goalie?
In 2025-26 under Bruce Cassidy, the Vegas Golden Knights had pulled their goalie in half of their late one-goal deficits with 1:51 left in the 3rd period, and in 23% with 2:00 or more left (27 games trailing by one in the last 10 minutes).
How many empty-net goals have the Golden Knights allowed?
With their goalie pulled in 2025-26, the Vegas Golden Knights scored 7 and allowed 11 empty-net goals in 44:49 of 6-on-5 time. Defending an empty net, they scored 9 empty-net goals and allowed 5 goals to the extra attacker.
How is goalie pull time measured?
From the NHL shift charts: the first moment in a deficit when the team had no goalie on the ice, excluding delayed penalties. The curve counts every late deficit, including ones erased before a pull, so it is not biased toward long deficits.