Most teams have an idea of what it looks like to be good enough to win the Stanley Cup, but very few have an actual standard to measure against. The Golden Knights are one of the fortunate few who have been to the mountaintop, so they know exactly what it takes to get it done.
However, when you have that season in recent memory, everything that happens afterward is compared to it. This season is no different.
Whether it’s the record, scoring pace, lineup, injuries, trade deadline plans, you name it, 2022-23 is always the benchmark.
The first year we came out of the break and we went on a tear. Last year we were uneven, this year we’re uneven. -Bruce Cassidy
The Cup-winning team entered the break on a 16-16-4 lull and dropped out of 1st place in the division. They won five straight right after the bye week, then stormed into the playoffs on a 22-4-5 run without losing more than two consecutive games for over two months.
This year’s team still has a chance to go on that post-break run that last year’s didn’t.
I like our play a lot more this year than I did last year in terms of the uneven results. I think we’ve played better than our record shows. We just haven’t sustained it for 60 minutes. -Cassidy
The 6-9-3 record over the last 18 games leaves room for concern, but Cassidy believes the team is playing better than the final scores indicate.
Looking at that month of games, I feel like we’re ahead of last year in our play and the process. The results are kind of similar. That’s the good news and I think our guys understand that and I think they know what it’s supposed to look like most nights. Now we need to make it look that way for longer stretches. -Cassidy
Next up on the schedule are five straight home games including two teams out of playoff position. There’s no better time than now to stop mimicking 2023-24 and start mirroring 2022-23.
