In just their sixth NHL season, the Vegas Golden Knights are one win away from a Stanley Cup.

Golden Knights 3, Panthers 2 (Golden Knights lead series 3-1)

Chandler Stephenson was the scoring hero for the Golden Knights in Game 4, scoring the first two goals of the game. Stephenson is now up to 10 goals and 19 points in 21 playoff games, which is good for seventh in playoff scoring. He trails only Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson among Vegas players for goals. His 10 playoff goals is just six shy of his regular-season total of 16, which he needed 81 games to reach. He most likely won't win the Conn Smythe, but he might receive a vote or two.

Karlsson scored the other goal for the Golden Knights to give them a 3-0 lead midway through the second period. Karlsson is tied for third with 11 playoff goals, which is just three goals shy of his regular-season total in a full 82 games. His 43 goals from the Golden Misfits inaugural season is looking more and more like an outlier, as his next-highest season total is 24 goals and he has not reached 20 goals in any other season.

Mark Stone and Nicolas Hague each had two assists for Vegas. Stone has hardly looked injured during these playoffs, as he currently has points in all four playoff games and his scoring at a point-per-game pace (21 points in 21 games) during the playoffs. I still think he's an injury risk for next season because of the back issues that have forced him to miss significant time over the past two seasons. However, I'm softening my stance of him as a player to avoid drafting completely.

With 29 saves, Adin Hill had his 10^th quality start in 12 games. He has allowed over two goals just once in the Stanley Cup Final, and that was in the Game 3 overtime loss.

New dad Brandon Montour scored a goal for the second consecutive game. Surprisingly considering the heater he was on earlier in the playoffs, his goal in Game 3 was his first point in 11 games. This was after he scored six goals and nine points in his first eight playoff games. Maybe he's not as unstoppable as we thought he was, but that shouldn't take away from the fact that he is a major reason that the Panthers are where they are.

Aleksander Barkov had no points in the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final, but he made up for that with a goal in the third period to make it 3-2 along with an assist on Montour's goal and six shots. The Panthers captain had five points in the four games of the Conference Final against Carolina.

Matthew Tkachuk made it obvious that he is playing through some kind of injury, playing very little during much of the third period until late in the game. He is dealing with a possible shoulder injury but was also "walking gingerly" (according to one reporter) after the game. He might be listed as questionable for Game 5, but to quote Jim Robson, you know he'll play… he'll play on crutches. Even if he's basically used as a decoy or as a disruptor to try to spoil the Vegas party.

By the way, Tkachuk has three 10-minute misconducts in this series alone and four in the playoffs. He and Sam Bennett are now the penalty minute leaders in the playoffs with 60 PIM each.

Tkachuk's latest game misconduct came during this melee at the end of the game. Alex Pietrangelo had just taken a puck over glass penalty, with Hill making back-to-back game-saving stops on Tkachuk and Bennett as the clock ticked down to zero. This should set the table for an interesting Game 5 in Vegas on Tuesday.

–

Don't forget to purchase your 2023 Fantasy Prospects Report at the Dobber Sports store. Better yet, for another $2 you can get this summer's Fantasy Hockey Guide and Draft List – just by picking up the Keeper League Fantasy Pack instead!

–

Yesterday we profiled players that recorded a high percentage of primary assists last season. These are players that should demonstrate that their current assist rate is sustainable and perhaps can even improve. Today we'll flip that the other way and list some players with a high secondary assist percentage. These are players that you might need to be wary of next season, particularly if you are relying on them for their assist total.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Nugent-Hopkins led the league with 39 secondary assists, with the next-highest total being 34. His secondary assist rate had jumped from about 45% over the last few seasons to 58% in 2022-23. That's a fairly high normal rate for secondary assists, which might be indicative of a player riding the coattails of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers power play. In fact, Nugent-Hopkins also led all players with 25 secondary power-play assists, with the next-highest total being 20.  

Overall, the Nuge had recorded 67 assists total for his first 100-point season, a total that was rather unexpected considering that he never previously even had a 70-point season. A point decline, and maybe even a sharp one, seems to be in the cards here. Even a small decline on the Edmonton power play could have an adverse impact on his numbers, as over half of RNH's assists were on the power play (38 PPA). Just over half of his overall points (53 of 104) were on the power play. A McDavid or Draisaitl injury could also cut into Nugent-Hopkins' scoring.

Artturi Lehkonen

We know that Lehkonen's fantasy value has increased sharply since his trade to Colorado. Could his value be inflated based on his secondary assist rate? Of his 30 assists, 21 were of the secondary variety. In the past, his secondary assist rate tended to be all over the map, but prior to 2022-23 his career high in assists was 20. With or without the past numbers, a 70% secondary assist rate is very high.

Lehkonen's secondary assist rate might be a byproduct of playing on a line with Nathan MacKinnon, who was a common linemate in spite of the constant line juggling that the Avalanche had to perform because of injuries. It seems clear that Lehkonen needs a linemate of the caliber of MacKinnon or Mikko Rantanen in order to be fantasy relevant. Otherwise, we should probably expect his numbers to dramatically decline and perhaps be similar to what he had been posting in Montreal.

Jakob Chychrun

Defensemen usually have a higher percentage of secondary assists than forwards, so perhaps their numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. That being said, 17 of Chychrun's 24 assists (70%) this season were secondary assists. As well, Chychrun was held to just 48 games all season due to injury, although his 0.69 PTS/GP pace was the second-highest total of his career. It's difficult to get a read on Chychrun in this category, as he recorded just three assists (and five points) in the 12 games he played for the Senators.

Drew Doughty

Doughty's secondary assist total (67.4%) wasn't far behind Chychrun's, even with Doughty playing in all but one game. His 43 assists is his highest total since 2017-18 and is tied for the second-highest total of his career. A potential assist downturn could be compounded with the possible emergence of some younger defensemen such as Sean Durzi, Jordan Spence, and Brandt Clarke.

–

Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.