Golden Knights, Cassidy Confident Despite Being Down in Series

On Thursday, the Vegas Golden Knights played Game 3 against the Minnesota Wild hoping to regain the series lead. Instead, they made careless mistakes and took uncharacteristic penalties. The Wild scored two quick goals, and the Golden Knights never managed to recover; for the second consecutive game, they lost 5-2.

“We want to be the team that scores the first goal,” said Karlsson. “It’s always easier to play with the lead, so we’re going to have to manage that next game.”

“I thought as we went along, we did a better job,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy. “They started better than us. We kind of expected that; it was their first home playoff game in a bit, so you’ve got to counter that. And we ended up chasing the game… Eventually, we did get to it, but we could’ve started better, for sure. And that’s why we got ourselves in penalty trouble early.”

The final score doesn’t fully reflect their efforts. Although they lost, the Golden Knights began to look more like themselves as the game progressed. They established themselves physically and were effective on the forecheck.

“I think we have to be harder on them,” said Ivan Barbashev. “I think we let them off the hook a little bit in Game 1 and Game 2. To us, that’s a wake-up call.”

“Some of those hits, they’re great,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy. “But it means that the other team has the puck… I thought we were more physically engaged [on Thursday] than we have been… We needed to do that tonight, and I thought we did… That’s part of our game, and I think we need it to be contagious to be effective in getting pucks back.”

One of the biggest problems haunting the Golden Knights is their top line’s abrupt inability to score. Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Ivan Barbashev have yet to register a single point through three postseason games.

“We just have to find a way to create some offense,” said Barbashev on the top line’s struggle. “I feel like [Thursday] was a little bit better, but I don’t think we’re putting enough pucks on net.”

“There were periods where we were playing really well but not scoring,” said William Karlsson. “And then they get a chance, and they’re effective. It was back and forth, but at the end of the day, they scored more goals than we did.”

The Wild haven’t had any issues getting offense from their best players. Superstar forward Kirill Kaprizov has four goals and three assists through three games; Matt Boldy has four goals and two assists.

“[Matt Boldy] has a world-class player beside him,” said Cassidy. “And they’ve got a guy in the middle who does the dirty work. That’s a good combination of players there for that line, and we’ve got to find a way to slow them down.”

Despite being down 2-1 in the series, the Golden Knights aren’t worried. They know what it takes to win, and they’re keeping their cool.

“This game is over, and it’s only Game 3,” said Ivan Barbashev. 

“No, there’s no need for panic,” William Karlsson agreed. “It’s one game at a time. All we can focus on is the next one. Get that and it’s status quo going back to Vegas. That’s what we’re aiming for.”