No more excuses: Golden Knights have to find their game against Stars
Derek Hegna
Host · Writer
The Vegas Golden Knights now find themselves with a choice: break out of their own malaise or sink because of it.
On Sunday, another crucial game awaits the Golden Knights in the second game of a back-to-back weekend against the Dallas Stars.
Venue: American Airlines Arena, Dallas, TX
Date: Sunday, March 22
Time: 4:00 pm PST
How To Watch: SCRIPPS, ESPN+
Radio: 1340 AM, 94.7 FM
The previous game against the Nashville Predators was as disheartening a start to the road trip through the Central Division as possible. Despite nearly doubling the Predators in shots, offense and goaltending continued to struggle as the Golden Knights suffered their third straight loss. At some point, the collective frustrations of the team have to translate to something productive on the ice, but they are running out of time.
Even in a situation where they are likely massive underdogs against a Stars team with Cup aspirations, the Golden Knights have to find some way to get a spark.
Driving forward
One of the most scary trends of the past few games is that the forward group has been held off the scoresheet for the last three.
There is too much talent and financial investment in this group to be struggling as they have. Jack Eichel and Mark Stone have struggled to make an impact since the Olympic break, and even players such as Pavel Dorofeyev and Mitch Marner have been unable to avoid the collective snake bite. If the offense is ever going to get back on track, it starts with Vegas’ top stars finding the back of the net again.
Back to the drawing board
Special teams has been the bread and butter of the Golden Knights this season, but no one would have known that against the Predators.
The second period saw Nashville beat Vegas at their own game with two power play goals and a shorthanded tally to effectively knock the Golden Knights out. It was the byproduct of an all-around frustrating afternoon, and head coach Bruce Cassidy will have to address it in the short amount of time they have between games. Much like the rest of the gameplan, expect a much more simple and straightforward approach this time around.
The other guys
The only good thing about the Golden Knights’ current issues is that they coincide with similar cold spells in the Pacific.
Over the past three days, the Pacific Division has lost six games or more without winning once in two of them. Even yesterday, the only Pacific team not to lose by three goals were the last-place Vancouver Canucks (they lost by two). The Golden Knights could just watch the tire fire burning behind them en route to the playoffs, but they would much prefer to get on a late-season roll just to keep themselves above the cutoff line.
