User:The Kip/sandbox

This is where I incubate written passages for articles before sourcing and publishing.

2023-24 VGK season summary
The Golden Knights entered the 2023–24 season retaining the majority of their Cup-winning roster, agreeing to extensions with Barbashev, Hill, and Brayden Pachal several weeks after the Finals. However, Blueger, Brossoit, and Quick departed in free agency, while original Golden Knight Reilly Smith was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, ending his six-year tenure with the franchise. For the second consecutive season, Vegas started the season at the top of the Pacific Division, going 11–0–1 over their first twelve games, with no regulation losses in October; their seven-game season-opening win streak set the record for the longest season-opening winning streak of any defending champion, surpassing the record of five previously set by the 1985–86 Edmonton Oilers and 1920–21 Ottawa Senators.

The team again faltered in the months afterward, though, with another rash of injuries between November and February resulting in the NHL debuts of Lukas Cormier, Mason Morelli, and 2019 first-round pick Brendan Brisson. January also saw the Golden Knights compete in the 2024 NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day, facing off against Seattle at T-Mobile Park in their second outdoor game; Vegas ultimately lost 3–0, becoming the first team to be shut out in the Winter Classic. Business changes also occurred mid-season, as the Maloof family sold the bulk of their shares to majority owner Bill Foley in early January, with only Adrienne Maloof maintaining a minority stake. After a short winning period in late January that featured Hill's return from a two-month injury, as well as Pachal's loss to the Calgary Flames on waivers, the team celebrated its first 1,000th-game ceremony on February 12, 2024, as defenseman Alex Pietrangelo played his 1,000th NHL game. However, the team slumped heavily after the All-Star break, recording a 2–8–1 record between February 12 and March 7, endangering their playoff chances. In an attempt to bolster the roster, the Golden Knights acquired Noah Hanifin, Tomas Hertl, and Anthony Mantha at the trade deadline, later signing Hanifin to an eight-year extension to begin the following season; this was followed by a 6–0–1 surge through late March, culminating in the Golden Knights clinching a playoff berth on April 12. As the second wild card, Vegas again faced off against the Central Division champion Dallas Stars in a rematch of the past year's Western Conference Final; despite winning the first two games of the series, the Golden Knights would ultimately lose the series in seven games, ending their title defense in the first round.

Logan Thompson update
Following the Winter Classic, however, Thompson improved; after recording a 1.34 goals against average and .956 save percentage with a 3-0-0 record during a mid-month homestand, Thompson was named the league's Third Star of the Week, alongside Kirill Kaprizov and David Pastrnak. The remainder of the season saw up-and-down play from Thompson, with several poor starts in February, including a seven-goal loss to the Buffalo Sabres, followed by a stretch of five consecutive starts with one goal against. This stretch resulted in another Star of the Week award, being named the Second Star alongside Connor McDavid and Alexis Lafreniere. After playing his 100th career game on April 5, 2024, Thompson was named the Golden Knights' playoff starter. Though he won his first two playoff starts against the Dallas Stars on April 22 and 24, Thompson then lost two consecutive games, despite recording a career-high 43 saves in game three; he was subsequently replaced by Hill for game 5, and Vegas ultimately lost the series in seven games.