Jan 14, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vegas Golden Knights proper wing Mark Stone (61) takes a shot on aim towards the Nashville Predators through the second interval at Bridgestone Enviornment. Necessary Credit score: Steve Roberts-Imagn Photographs Amid their worst dropping stretch of the season, the Vegas Golden Knights host the St. Louis Blues in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee Monday in Las Vegas.
It is the primary sport of a home-and-home set between the 2 groups, with the rematch on Thursday in St. Louis.
Vegas, tied with the Edmonton Oilers for first place within the Pacific Division with 61 factors, has misplaced three consecutive video games, matching its longest skid of the season. The Golden Knights have additionally dropped 5 of their final six outings, the crew’s worst six-game output over 46 contests.
“It isn’t tremendous perfect, proper?” captain Mark Stone mentioned after a 5-3 loss at Chicago on Saturday, which ended an 0-3 highway journey. “The nice factor is it is nothing they’re doing. It is preventable errors by us.”
The loss to the Blackhawks, who’ve the fewest factors within the NHL, was arguably the low level of the season for Vegas. The Golden Knights additionally fell 3-2 at Carolina on Friday after beginning the journey with a 5-3 loss at Nashville on Tuesday.
“A little bit adversity is sweet presently of yr, but it surely’s solely good in the event you work your means out of it,” Stone mentioned. “We have got to go residence and get again to the drafting board and be able to battle and discover a approach to win a sport.”
Vegas performed catch-up usually throughout its journey. The Golden Knights fell behind Nashville 4-0 and trailed Chicago 3-1 after the Blackhawks scored thrice in a 3:42 span late within the first interval.
“That is a difficulty for us proper now,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy mentioned. “Our dangerous stretches, we’re not placing out fires and limiting harm. We did a significantly better job of that earlier within the yr.”
St. Louis had a two-game profitable streak snapped with a 4-2 loss towards Utah on Saturday in Salt Lake Metropolis.
The Blues, who’re fifth within the Central Division and three factors behind Calgary for the second wild-card spot within the Western Convention, have but to win three video games in a row this season.
St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery raised some eyebrows within the loss to Utah when he benched his high line of Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich and Jake Neighbours for the ultimate half of the opening interval after Utah constructed a 3-1 lead with three objectives over a 4 1/2-minute span.
“They had been minus-2,” Montgomery mentioned. “I used to be going with the gamers I believed had been making an attempt to get it completed.”
When requested about being benched, Thomas mentioned, “Our line simply cannot get scored on. Plain and easy. That is it.
“We have got to be higher, should be constant. Whoever’s going to play. That is the message (Montgomery) despatched. We obtained scored on twice so we did not should be on the market.”
Now the Blues will attempt to rebound towards a Golden Knights crew that has compiled a 23-5-2 report towards Western Convention foes.
“We now have a troublesome schedule developing,” Thomas mentioned. “We have got them twice back-to-back, residence and away, so it is a massive check for us. Clearly, they’re an amazing crew, and we have to discover a approach to begin profitable video games.”
Monday marks the second assembly between the 2 groups. Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev every had a aim and an help as Vegas gained the primary one, 4-3, on Oct. 11 in Las Vegas.
–Area Stage Media
