AFTER INJURY TO HAULA, EAKIN HAS SCORED 8 GOALS ON 2ND LINE

poised to blow by that in 2018-19, with 25 in 28 games.

Eakin, meanwhile, has been the gem of the team’s depth.

The 27-year-old was serviceable last year, with 11 goals and 27 points in 80 games, but this year he has been tremendous. He has already matched his goal total from last year (and did it in his 26th game), and his career-high of 19 looks to be in reach too.

“Guys are ready to step up when they need to, and they’ve been doing a good job,” Eakin said. “We found some chemistry with the line and we’ve been skating well and doing the little things. Just maintain that.”

When the Golden Knights needed him most is when he was at his best. Haula left the Nov. 6 game in Toronto, leaving the Golden Knights without a second-line center for a “month-tomonth” period of time. Eakin slotted in and recorded assists in the next two games, as well as scoring eight goals since, including the game in Toronto.

“We love the way Eakin has stepped up and played the second-line center role extremely well,” Mcphee said. “We always believed he was capable of doing that, and he’s done a good job.”

Twelve players last season skated in every game and the Golden Knights rode the stability to the Stanley Cup Final. This year, the Golden Knights weathered the storm of seemingly everyone missing at once, and now as players return from suspension and injury, Vegas looks dangerous once again.

“We’ve got a lot of good players here, and I think guys have been doing a good job of stepping up no matter who comes into the lineup,” defenseman Shea Theodore said. “I think that’s just one of our strong suits as a team.”