Confidence is high as Golden Knights head into 2018

December was very good for the Golden Knights.

How good? They went 11-1-1 and with the 23 points, moved to the top of the Pacific Division and have the best record in the NHL’s Western Conference at 26-9-2. The 23 points also was a record for a first-year team for the month.

But as coach Gerard Gallant is quick to point out, it’s all about the next game.

The Knights host the Nashville Predators at 7 p.m. Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena to kick off 2018 and they do so riding a franchise-best seven-game win streak after closing out 2017 with an impressive 6-3 win over Toronto on Sunday.

With the calendar turning to January, new challenges await: They’re on the road seven times this month, including back-to-back games at St. Louis on Thursday and Chicago on Friday.

“Obviously, this streak is unbelievable,” Gallant said. “The guys are playing well and they’re playing great hockey every night. They’re competing. I try and take it one game at a time, but it’s hard. You just keep working hard and battling, you get some puck luck.

“We’re playing good hockey. Everything is falling into place. You want to get the guys going. You want to keep them working hard and keep them at the same level. Don’t get too high, don’t get too low. Come to the rink and play hard and good things happen.”

The Knights continue to get contributions throughout the lineup. Whether it’s offense or killing penalties, everyone is chipping in. The goaltending remains solid as Malcolm Subban’s play in net is complimenting starter Marc-Andre Fleury nicely.

“We need that,” Gallant said. “We talked about having 20 guys playing every night and most nights we’ve got it. When these guys are hot like they’ve been the last little while, it makes your team go.”

Center William Karlsson, who recorded the first hat trick in team history Sunday with his 18th, 19th and 20th goals of the season, said the team believes in each other.

“All December, we’ve been playing really good,” Karlsson said. “We’re a very confident team and I think it shows up on the ice too. It doesn’t matter if we’re down a goal or two and we just keep going. This is a team full of confidence.”

Left wing Reilly Smith, who is Karlsson’s linemate, said winning breeds confidence.

“When you’re winning, you have a little more swagger,” Smith said. “You can see it in our young guys. They’re playing looser and crisper than they were in November.”

Twenty-one year-old right wing Alex Tuch, one of the Knights’ younger players, said there’s a comfort level everyone has with playing Gallant’s system.

”Everyone knows their roles and nobody’s trying to do too much,” Tuch said. “Everyone believes in each other and trusts the system.”

Smith said don’t expect the Knights to deviate from what has gotten them to the top of the standings.

It’ll be a challenging month but we’re pretty excited about it,” he said. “I don’t think our approach changes. Everything is geared toward taking it one game at a time.”

Someone suggested to Gallant after Sunday’s game that he make up shirts and hats with that “One game at a time” slogan. He just laughed.

“I don’t worry about stuff like that,” he said. “I’m just focused on Nashville.”

Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.