Golden Knights wrap up January with 2-1 overtime loss

The Vegas Golden Knights sustained another overtime defeat in the opening minute with a 2-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Tomas Hertl scored the lone goal for Vegas (31-15-6), while Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves.

The Golden Knights have four games on the East Coast before the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, beginning Sunday against the New York Rangers.

“We just got to find a way to push through here,” Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin said. “We have a big road trip and four more games left before this break. We can reset and get back to the way we were earlier. We just got to take these few days, and regroup a bit.  We’re playing a couple of teams that beat us last time we played them, so we got to be ready to go.”

Golden Knights Lack Net Front Presence

Hanifin and Hertl stressed that the Golden Knights need to attack the net more and be more of a presence in the front of the net.

“This wasn’t a great month for us,” Hertl said. “A lot of [offensive shots] are outside. We have to work it in with one guy in that front, get the rebounds, and work it out. We’re now looking for the best play, seams, and it doesn’t work now because sometimes that’s how it works when you’re not doing great and, sometimes, use simple ways and just get in the net and fight for it. That’s what costs us a little bit lately, and we have to just start being a little harder around both nets.”

Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy attributed the lack of net-front play to a few factors.

The first is fatigue – both mental and physical. Playing at the goal front wears on the players, making it challenging to play the hard-nosed style needed to score net-front goals.

The second is the team lacks a shooter mentality, looking for the perfect pass and play rather than sending pucks directly to the net.

“It’s a battle of wills right now to do it,” Cassidy said. “So, we’ve got to keep pushing through that, and that’ll be our challenge as a staff on Sunday.”

Hertl Scores Again

Hertl scored a goal in the third consecutive game, giving him an 11-game point streak. The streak is the second longest in Golden Knights history, trailing only Jack Eiche’s 12-game point streak.

During this stretch, Hertl has nine goals and six assists.

“He’s been playing awesome for us. He’s a real smart guy, a real smart player,” Hanifin said. “Puts himself in the right spots and a big, strong body. So he’s been great for us recently and producing a lot of our offense. He’s been excellent.”

Turn the Page

The Golden Knights finish January with a 6-6-3 record in January. The silver lining? They picked up a point in five of the last six games.

“We’ll look back and realize we did get points. It was a 500-month. That’s not what we’re aiming for, but I’ve said this many times, if that turns out to be your worst month, you’re going to be in good shape,” Cassidy said. “We have three more to go. So, ask me again in April.”