Mired in their worst stretch of the season, the Vegas Golden Knights hope to reverse their fortunes on a two-game, two-day road trip that begins Thursday against the St. Louis Blues.
The Golden Knights lost 6-5 at home to the Blues in a shootout on Monday after Vegas scored twice late in the third period and was able to gain a point. Coach Bruce Cassidy’s team has lost four straight and six of its last seven (1-5-1).
Despite the slump, the Golden Knights remain one point ahead of the Edmonton Oilers for the lead in the Pacific Division. Cassidy told reporters on Tuesday that the current stretch has been marred by several “self-inflicted” mistakes at key moments.
“I don’t think we’re playing poorly. We’re just playing poorly in the stretches that we’re having to chase the game,” he said. “It’s not 60 minutes; it’s pockets of it.”
Pavel Dorofeyev has played well for the Golden Knights during the team’s recent slump. The Knights’ leading goal scorer has six of his 20 in the team’s last five games, including the game-tying goal with 30 seconds left in regulation on Monday.
Points leader Jack Eichel (58) has four points (one goal, three assists) in the last three games, including a third-period goal and an assist on Dorofeyev’s score on Monday.
Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill has an 18-8-3 record this season. However, he’s 1-2-1 in his last four starts and has given up at least three goals in each of the losses.
The Blues have won three of their last four and are tied with the Vancouver Canucks, both of whom are one point back of the Calgary Flames for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Jake Neighbours has scored in consecutive games and has points in three straight for St. Louis, and Brayden Schenn has at least a point in each of his last four games. They both tallied goals in Monday’s shootout to get the second point for the Blues on Monday.
Blues netminder Jordan Binnington is just 13-17-3, which is the worst in his eight-year career. However, he’s 9-4-5 in 19 appearances against the Golden Knights with a 3.08 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.
Despite letting a two-goal lead lapse in Vegas on Monday, Blues coach Jim Montgomery came away from the game happy with his team’s performance.
“It should give us a lot of confidence that when we play the right way and our habits and details are really good and we combine that with really good effort and execution, that we can play with the elite teams in the league,” he said.
Both teams may be somewhat short-handed going into Thursday.
Vegas forward Brett Howden may not make the trip to St. Louis due to an illness. He scored a goal in Monday’s loss and is tied with Tomas Hertl for second on the team with 16 goals.
Cassidy also said forward Cole Schwindt, who missed Monday’s game, is week-to-week dealing with a lower-body injury.
St. Louis defenseman Philip Broberg left Wednesday’s practice early and was being evaluated for an injury, according to NHL.com. He registered an assist, his 12th of the season, in Monday’s win. That was his first point since Dec. 31.
–Field Level Media
