Through the first month of the season, the Vegas Golden Knights offense was a force to be reckon with.
They had outscored opponents 61-43 and their power play executed around 30% to lead the league.
Individually, the first line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Ivan Barbashev was the best in the league. Stone and Echiel were in the top five in points, with Stone earning the first star in the NHL’s 3 Stars of the Week.
However, following a Stone injury against Edmonton on Nov. 6, which forced new lineup changes, the Golden Knights’ offense has slowed.
In their last five games, they’ve gone 2-3-1 and were shut out for the first time this season against the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-0, on Wednesday.
Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said he knew his team was going to come down from the beginning of the season scoring high but not as rapidly.
“We haven’t had the scoring that we did earlier in the year, and we knew that would balance out,” Cassidy said. “It was higher than most and the shooting percentage was high, so we talked about that.”
Vegas’ shot totals have increased in the past five games compared to the first month, jumping to 34 shots per game to the 29 shots averaged in the first month. However, the Golden Knights can’t seem to find the back of the net.
Since the Stone injury, which happened around the one-month point of the season, Vegas has been outscored by its opposition 17-11. In its last two games, the Golden Knights were outscored 8-2.
“We need to find ways to score goals,” Eichel said. “Obviously, it was a similar story against Washington. We put a lot on them and had nothing to show for it.”
The first line’s production has also slowed without Stone at wing. Nicolas Roy and Pavel Dorofeyev have been tried out for the vacant position, but in six games without Stone, the first line has produced just three points.
While on paper, Dorofeyev or Roy should fit with the first-line combination, on the ice, the chemistry hasn’t clicked the same way as it did with Stone.
“You lose a few in a row, and you don’t want to let this continue,” Eichel said. “We need to find a way to get two points. It’s as simple as that.”
Cassidy said that he’s hoping that the guys who usually play in place of Stone “weren’t at their best” against Toronto and that they’ll be able to step up against the Ottawa Senators in less than 24 hours.
“Some of the guys we leaned on tonight weren’t at their best in those roles,” Cassidy said. “Hopefully, their response will be there tomorrow. That’s usually what good teams do. They’re not happy with the performance. They get out there and correct it as fast as they can.”
The Golden Knights believe that the quick turnaround from Toronto to Ottawa will benefit them. There’s a sense of urgency to play better and there isn’t as much time for a loss to sink in mentally.
“If I’m some of our guys, I’m glad we’re playing more, quite honestly,” Cassidy said. “In general, you want to get back at it, so we will.”
