Knights shootout woes continue in 5-4 loss to Stars

LAS VEGAS — We don’t know just yet where the Vegas Golden Knights will be playing for 83 of their 84 games next season, but you can at least put a circle around Feb. 20, 2027 which is when the Knights face the Dallas Stars at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

But for the Knights, the present is more important than the future.  They’re trying to make it to the Olympic break at the top of the Pacific Division and even with the addition of Rasmus Andersson on the blue line and the recent return of Adin Hill to the net, things remain somewhat uneven for Bruce Cassidy’s team.

Vegas still has an overall losing record despite leading the division. Thursday’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Stars at T-Mobile Arena dropped them further below .500 (25-14-14) and it dropped them into a first place tie with the Oilers as Edmonton defeated San Jose, each team with 64 points. Those pesky overtime and shootout losses have really been a thorn in the team’s collective side and with good reason. A team that has Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Mitch Marner, Tomas Hertl, Pavel Dorofeyev, Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin should not be losing 13 games in OT and be 1-6 in shootouts.

“You’ve got to take care of freakin’ business out there. It’s pretty simple,” Cassidy said. “A couple of turnovers where we went backwards. We need to play direct. You’ve heard me say it and we’ll keep saying it.

“It’s on me to do a better job.”

To that end, Cassidy did something he rarely does. He held a video session between the second and third periods with his team trailing 4-1.

“It’s strange in the NHL to do it mid-game but if that’s what we have to do, then we’ll do it,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ve done that in 10 years. If that’s what it takes to get their attention.”

To their credit, the Knights did rally, using Reilly Smith’s shorthanded goal early in the third period as a catalyst. Ivan Barbashev broke a 16-game goal-less streak with 6:06 to play to make it 4-3 and Mitch Marner forced overtime, beating Jake Oettinger with a wrist shot from inside the blue line that caught the bottom of the crossbar and went in with 49 seconds left.

But as has been the case more often than not this season, Vegas was unable to get that critical second point. Mark Stone had a great look late in overtime but couldn’t quite get enough on his shot attempt. And in the shootout, Dorofeyev and Eichel both missed while Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen converted for Dallas.  

I’ve been seeing the angst over the team’s goaltending all season and it seems nobody is happy with Hill, Akira Schmid or Carter Hart. And while Schmid has been adequate in his backup role, the truth is, the guys in front of them haven’t been great either.

Jeremy Lauzon, who came over from Nashville in the deal that sent Nic Hague to the Predators, has had more downs than ups though he’s been slightly better of late while paired with Theodore, Thursday notwithstanding as he took a tripping penalty then flubbed a breakaway chance. Zach Whitecloud is now in Calgary, Brayden McNabb has been out the entire month of January and he won’t be back until after the Olympics at the earliest.

And let’s not forget Alex Pietrangelo in this equation. While he has gotten older and perhaps lost a step, Pietrangelo still had a veteran presence on the ice and in the locker room. And yes, I know putting him on long term injured reserve was necessary in order to make the deal for Marner, but he has been missed on the blue line to a certain extent.

In Cassidy’s system, it takes a combined effort to keep the puck out of his team’s net. It means forwards coming back to help and defensemen keeping opponents out of high-danger areas and to the perimeter. Most nights, there’s enough of that effort to do so. But between the injuries, roster changes and a lack of attention to detail at times, the Knights have not been as proficient when it comes to preventing goals.

“Listen, we got some guys out of the lineup,” Cassidy said. “But we’re getting healthier. We’re missing faceoff people (William Karlsson, Brett Howden and Colton Sissons) but we’re trying to make it work. You’ve got to help as a group.

“You might give up one shot but you have to take care of business after that. We had a couple of turnovers where we went backwards. We need some saves to put out fires. Hilly had some of those (Thursday). That’s part of the equation.”    

Maybe Andersson will have a greater impact as he gets more comfortable with his new teammates. But right now, the Knights are a bunch that are not playing the kind of complimentary hockey from earlier this month when they won seven straight. They’ve now lost five of their last six, the lone win the 6-3 victory at Toronto last Friday and fallen into a tie for first in the process. However, Vegas has two games in hand on Edmonton.

When you’re struggling the way the Knights currently are, it’s not one specific thing that’s leading to the losses. But your goalie has to do his share and Hill appears to be searching to find his groove. He allowed seven goals Sunday in Ottawa and four more Thursday. Yes, he made some big saves against Dallas but he also got beat a couple of times on shots he was either out of position to stop or simply couldn’t make the play on. He’s not as sharp as he’d like to be or the Knights need him to be.

He figures to play in two of the remaining four games before the Olympics. Perhaps he can use the break to work on his own and sharpen things up when the season resumes Feb. 25 in Los Angeles against the Kings. If the Knights are going to be serious contenders come playoff time, they’ll need strong, consistent play in their net, be it from Hill, Schmid or whoever else finds his way to the crease.

“I’ve got to fix the things that aren’t going well,” Cassidy said. “I don’t know if it’s any one thing.”