Vegas is in a very different spot. The Golden Knights went into Nashville 5-2-0, and Jack Eichel had 3 goals and 9 assists for 12 points through 7 games. Then they finished off a road back-to-back with a 5-2 win. It was 3-2 after 2 periods, and Vegas won the 3rd 2-0 on a night when the Predators were the rested team. They come home with a day off before this one.
The form card is all Ls, but the scores tell you more. Calgary lost the Avalanche game 3-7 and both Kraken games 1-6. When better teams have pushed the pace, this team has come apart. Vegas just showed it can do exactly that late, finishing the Predators with 2 unanswered goals in the 3rd. If the Golden Knights' depth keeps rolling the way it did in Nashville, that's the matchup that matters.
Calgary's forward group is also thinner than the one that opened the season. Jonathan Huberdeau has been on injured reserve with a hip problem since before the opener. Samuel Honzek is now out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, per the club's Monday update. That's 2 left wingers gone from a team that already can't score, so more minutes go to depth forwards who haven't produced either.
There isn't much mystery here. Vegas is a contender playing like one, at home and rested. Calgary is trying to find out whether it's a bad start or a bad team. The Anaheim game settles some of that before Thursday, and the Flames' play over the first 2 periods in Vegas will settle the rest.