Golden Knights struggle to find answers for inconsistency
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Tuesday marked exactly a month since the Golden Knights won consecutive games for the only time this season.
The players may feel that it’s been more like a year since that three-game winning streak from Oct. 13 through 20.
The Knights believed they were on the right track after opening a three-game road trip with perhaps their most complete effort so far in a 6-3 win at Edmonton on Sunday night.
Then came Monday’s disaster in Calgary.
After allowing five first-period goals in a 7-2 loss to the Flames, Reilly Smith was left wondering how good the Knights really are right now.
“Any team can win a game in this league,” the first-line forward said. “If you’re going back and forth like we are right now, we’re just playing like a bad team. Parity is high and if you get bounces like we did (Sunday) night, it’s easy to win games. We didn’t do ourselves any justice (Monday) and pretty much wasted (Sunday) night’s win.”
Losing to the Flames after a great performance in Edmonton actually fits a troubling recent trend for a team that has battled inconsistency all season.
The Knights followed an overtime win against the Senators late last month with back-to-back road losses in Nashville and St. Louis.
After returning home and shutting out the Hurricanes, Vegas started another road trip with a 3-1 loss in Toronto.
The Knights bounced back with an encouraging win in Ottawa, only to drop games at Montreal and Boston.
Then came the roller coaster ride that has been the last four games.
A fantastic performance in a 5-0 win over Anaheim preceded a devastating 4-1 loss to last place St. Louis.
That set up the last two games.
“I don’t know, I can’t explain it,” defenseman Nick Holden said. “Honestly, I don’t know if it’s preparation or guys ease up a little bit (after a win) or what it is. For me, I can’t put my finger on what it is at all.”
Before the game in Calgary, coach Gerard Gallant was optimistic his team was close to stringing together a winning streak.
“Let’s try to get on a little roll here,” he said of his message to the team before the Knights took the ice Monday night. “We won a big game last night on the road. The points are important right now. We’ve got to keep playing well. It would be nice to win back-to-back games in Alberta and get something going here.”
The message clearly wasn’t received.
“We didn’t show up,” he said after the game. “We have to move on, obviously. It’s in the past. It was a stinker tonight, and we didn’t play well, so we have to get ready for the next one. Before the game, we’re thinking we had a great game last night where we played well and played hard, let’s keep turning this around. But we’ve said that too many times this year. Let’s win that second one. Let’s win that third one in a row.
“To come out here and play like that, it’s not acceptable.”
The Knights had seven winning streaks of three or more games in their inaugural season.
They have had trouble putting together two consecutive good periods this year.
“You don’t want to keep winning one then losing one and not gaining any ground in the standings,” Cody Eakin said Monday.
The Knights have to win one game before they can start a streak. They get their next chance against the Coyotes on Wednesday.
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Game day
■ Who: Golden Knights at Coyotes
■ When: 6 p.m. Wednesday
■ Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Ariz.
■ TV: AT&T SportsNet (Cox 313/1313, DirecTV 684, CenturyLink 760/1760, U-verse 757/1757, DISH 414/5414)
■ Radio: KRLV (98.9 FM, 1340 AM); ESPN Deportes (1460 AM)
■ Line: Coyotes -110, total 6
Three storylines
1. Look for a bright side. The Knights suffered a miserable 8-2 loss in Alberta last season and followed it up with five straight wins. That loss was to the Oilers and not much about this season resembles last year. They also followed up a 7-4 loss at Winnipeg with a four-game winning streak last season.
2. Scouting report. The Coyotes (9-9-1) have the same amount of points as the Knights in three less games. They had a five-game winning streak in late October and early November, but have come back to earth with a 2-4-1 mark since. During their current homestand, they followed a win over Nashville with a loss to Boston. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and 20-year-old Clayton Keller lead the team with 12 points, but Brad Richardson's six goals pace the team. This is the first meeting of the season after the Knights went 4-1 against them last season.
3. Starting to feel it? Forward Max Pacioretty was the biggest offseason acquisition for the Knights and was expected to be a big goal scorer this season due to his proven track record. It's been a bit of a grind as he adjusted to his new surroundings, but Pacioretty, who turned 30 on Tuesday, has scored in each of the first two games on the road trip to bring his total to four. The Knights need somebody to get hot soon and Pacioretty is as good a candidate as anyone.
