Golden Knights frustrated and in a scoring slump, but showing confidence it won’t last
LAS VEGAS — The frustration was palpable as Vegas Golden Knights players and coaches left T-Mobile Arena Saturday night. They had just been shut out 2-0 by the Arizona Coyotes . It was the third time they’d been blanked on the score sheet in their last six games, which is more times than it happened all of last season.
Offense hasn’t been easy to come by lately for Vegas, and Saturday night was no different.
Jonathan Marchessault said the team’s effort was sleepy, and called it “an unnecessary loss.”
Captain Mark Stone professed frustration, and coach Bruce Cassidy scolded the effort of some of his players in his postgame press conference.
“You have to work back,” Cassidy said. “You have to support the puck. Some of our guys that we rely on for offense are not willing to do that right now, and as a result the offense has dried up. Until they’re willing to get back to basics, I can’t sit here and tell you we’re going to come out of it tomorrow or the next day.”
After opening the season on a scoring heater, the net feels like it has shrunk for Vegas lately, with each opposing goalie seemingly having their best game against the Golden Knights. With six losses in their last nine games, the frustration is understandable, but pro hockey players turn the leaf quickly.
“You have to wake up the next day and think, ‘What can I do to make myself better?’” Marchessault said. “If everybody looks at themselves in the mirror and does that, I think we’ll be fine.”
Even in the midst of a lull, the Golden Knights’ self-confidence hasn’t faded. The players and coaches may let the frustration shine moments after a disappointing effort on the ice, but the underlying confidence is still present.
“When things are going really well you kind of take it for granted,” Pietrangelo said after practice on Sunday. “Every team goes through stretches like this. We’re too good to not get out of it.”
That confidence may be what ultimately helps the team through the slump, and it was already evident during Sunday morning’s practice. Players had ditched the discontent from the night before and were hooping, hollering and chirping each other through the drills.
“I think after the game you sit there and you think through the game,” Pietrangelo said. “I was frustrated, too. I hit two posts in the last minute. If I score one of those, all of a sudden the game is different. We know what we need to do better. We look hard in the mirror as individuals and as a group. Today is a new day.”
Pietrangelo ended the practice with a missile of a shot that rang off the crossbar and into the net. He immediately skated off the ice with his stick raised in triumph all the way through the dressing room door.
What a difference 14 hours can make. Professional athletes turn the page on both wins and losses with remarkable ease, especially a team with the veteran leadership and championship pedigree of the Golden Knights.
Cassidy held a film session Sunday morning, showing his players every scoring chance they generated during the disappointing five-game road trip they just returned home from. He said he reviewed close to 30 grade-A scoring chances that resulted in only one goal.
“So, which one is it? Are we going to get down because we’re not scoring, or are we going to be excited because we’re getting the opportunities and eventually we will score,” Cassidy said. “So that was a bit of the messaging. We can’t get too down on ourselves because the opportunities are there.”
Every team experiences scoring droughts. Good teams find ways to navigate them and still earn points. Bad teams allow the frustration to seep into other aspects of their game.
“Our team defense has been pretty consistently good, so the guys can hang their hats on that,” Cassidy said. “It’s one of the reasons our record is what it is, and it’s allowed guys to be able to play through some scoring slumps. That’s an identity of our team. No matter what, we’re still in the game. We’re right there. That’s the good news.”
Vegas’ stout defense has allowed it to stay in games, and atop the Pacific Division standings, through the slump. That’s a good sign, but the team isn’t simply waiting for the scoring to return.
“You can try harder to get to areas to score,” Cassidy said. “You can try harder to get to the inside, try harder to fight for a rebound, try harder to be the first on pucks on the forecheck. I always equate scoring with puck support. It’s usually a group of five. So it’s about puck support. How do we work harder to support the puck, and then we’ll have it more in better places.”
Stone has only one goal in the last nine games. Chandler Stephenson hasn’t scored in the last 14, with his last goal coming on Oct. 14.
“The mood of the team is fine,” Cassidy said. “We have some guys who are down, that feel like they’re not contributing because they’re not scoring. There’s that part, but you deal with that all year. You’re always balancing that.”
Sunday’s practice was packed with skills drills that the club seldom runs. Skills development coach Sean Ferrell took the lead, setting up three separate stations. In the neutral zone, an obstacle course of cones and sawed-off sticks for players to puckhandle through. Assistant coach Joel Ward timed each run with a stopwatch as skaters raced each other through the course.
“You have to be careful with the intensity of practice, so part of our issues right now are finishing plays so some of the skill work will help with that, even if it’s mentally,” Cassidy said. “We wanted (Ferrell) to design some drills that were technical in nature, in terms of some puck skills, but yet still have some competitive edge to them within the three zones they were working, so he did a good job.”
The Golden Knights returned home from a long, difficult road trip only to be welcomed by a disappointing loss to Arizona. Now they head onto another three-game trip to western Canada for three key divisional matchups. Sunday showed that while they’re certainly frustrated, they have a clear understanding of what is needed to right the ship and the confidence that they’ll make it happen.
“Maybe our execution hasn’t been where we want it to be,” Pietrangelo said. “At this level, if you’re off by just a fraction it makes a big difference because everything happens so fast. It’s not always about going out there and trying to skate 100 miles per hour. Sometimes it’s about slowing it down, working on things and having fun.”
(Photo of Mark Stone: Stephen R. Sylvanie / USA Today)
