Despite positives, Silver Knights’ hot streak cooled down by Texas

It is easy to feel somewhat disheartened about the state of the Vegas Golden Knights as of late.

The post-Olympic schedule has been rocky to say the very least, with Vegas’ 4-9-0 record being tied for the worst record in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Stars like Jack Eichel and Mark Stone have found it difficult to get back into the swing of things, while goaltending has continued to take its welts. Even in a Pacific Division that feels more like a demolition derby than a race, the Golden Knights are heading into the home stretch and potentially beyond with a myriad of serious questions.

However, the good news for the Golden Knights is that some of those answers to the questions reside just a 15-minute drive away from T-Mobile Arena.

The Henderson Silver Knights, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Golden Knights, have been on a tear since their own All-Star break last month. From just outside of the playoff picture, the Silver Knights have been arguably the hottest team in the AHL with a 12-2-2 record, including sweeping an intense six-game road trip. Leading the way for Henderson has been an offense that has hit hyper-speed in recent weeks, with 37 goals in the last six games, three different players scoring hat tricks in the last five, and a power play that has shot up from 13th to first in the last two months with a 25.5 percent success rate.

“Lot of credit to the coaches and my linemates. I think they’ve helped a ton with that stuff,” said Silver Knights forward and Golden Knights top prospect Trevor Connelly, who returned from injury and is currently on an 11-game point streak.

“I’ve been having so much fun here coming to the rink every day, so it’s been awesome.”

However, the Silver Knights wound up hitting a stumbling block on Saturday, falling to the Texas Stars 6-3.

Texas defenseman Jeremie Poirier was able to lift a backhand shot over Henderson goaltender Cameron Whitehead to get the Stars on the board first in five of their last six games.

It would not be long after, however, until the power play was able to get a chance to work. After getting some offensive zone time, Mitch McLain was able to find Kai Uchacz from behind the net. Uchacz, who got a taste of NHL action back in February, was able to bury a one-timer on the short side in order to tie the game at one.

“Kai…he’s earned his NHL call-up right before the All-Star break, got two games, got a call up after,” said Silver Knights head coach Ryan Craig on Uchacz.

“That game that he was playing here translated up there, he’s brought that game back, skating as well as he has all year.”

Another NHL veteran would be able to get himself on the board next. Alexander Holtz, who has put together eight points in seven games in his latest stint with Henderson, had some puck luck go his way with a shot that found its way through the five hole of Stars goaltender Remi Poirier to get Henderson the lead.

“I think it’s awesome. I think we look for each other on the ice, also [Uchacz], all three of us play as a line,” said Connelly, who got the primary assist on the Holtz goal.

“We can use our speed and skill to our advantage and kind of take over games with that. I think we kind of know what spots we’re going to be in and talk to each other before the game or during the game…so it’s been fun.”

The Stars would capitalize on a power play thanks to Matthew Seminoff taking advantage of a whiffed shot to end the first period tied at two goals apiece.

The second period would go to Texas, with Artem Shlaine scoring in the first ten seconds to help the Stars regain the lead, followed by Jack Becker burying a chance in front of Whitehead to increase the lead to two goals.

“We were fine going into the locker room, tied two-two,” said Craig about his team’s emotional level heading into the first intermission.

“We said they liked the cross-ice plays, which they do. Our gaps and our checking detail wasn’t up to par in the first 10 seconds, but we reset ourselves, got back to our game. Just couldn’t find a way to get the next one.”

The third period proved to be challenging for the Silver Knights as well, with a couple of power plays going awry.

“The start of the one power play, we had three shots in the first 30 seconds and then we never got another puck to the net,” said Craig on the power play struggling in the final frame.

“A little bit of that is finding ways to get the puck to the net. I thought we overpassed a little, passed out of some good areas. We probably have to attack a little bit more.”

Despite that, the Silver Knights managed to inch closer to a comeback when Tanner Laczynski buried a rebound after Brandon Hickey’s shot lead to the puck falling in front of Remi Poirier.

It would be as close as the Silver Knights would get, as the Stars would sink two empty net goals to snap the winning streak at six games in a game that was more tightly contested than the final score indicated.

“Our checking game and how we managed the game wasn’t quitehow we had done it on the road,” said Craig. “We got a little bit cute tonight against a good checking team, a team that does a good job through the neutral zone, and I think it cost us a bit of momentum at the end.”