Back-to-back games crucial for Golden Knights
CALGARY, Alberta — Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer downplayed the importance of his team’s upcoming back-to-back, noting they can’t clinch or lose a playoff spot based on the results.
But make no mistake, the next two games starting Sunday against Calgary at Scotiabank Saddledome could have a major impact on the Pacific Division race and playoff picture in the Western Conference.
“You just have to pick up the paper and look at the standings and see how they change nightly to see that,” DeBoer said after practice Saturday. “We’ve got a smart group. I think we know what’s at stake. We knew we weren’t going to win out going to the end of the season. There’s going to be some tough games, and everybody’s desperate.”
The Knights lost two of their past three after an eight-game win streak and entered Saturday’s games with a two-point lead in the division over Edmonton, which hosted Columbus late.
Should the Knights sweep the next two games against the Flames and Oilers on Monday, they would hold at least a four-point advantage over second-place Edmonton in the division race.
If the Knights then played .500 the rest of the way and accumulated 11 points from their final 11 regular-season games, Edmonton would need to pick up 16 points from its final 12 games to overtake them.
Calgary, with 79 points, would need 19 points from its remaining 12 games to catch the Knights in the aforementioned scenario. Vancouver, which has two games in hand on the Knights, would need 22 points in its final 15 games.
The Knights’ magic number to clinch a playoff berth was 23 points entering Saturday.
“It’s big games, division games, four-point games,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “Our division is so tight. Everyone knows that. If you can create some separation somehow, it’ll be huge. Division games are going to be really important from here on out, so we need to be sharp and be ready for them.”
The Knights weren’t sharp to open their five-game road trip, losing 4-0 on Friday at Winnipeg when they fell behind in the opening 32 seconds and trailed 3-0 after the first period.
It was the third time in four games the Knights allowed a goal on the opposition’s first shot and fourth straight game they’ve trailed or been tied at the end of the first period.
With each passing game, it’s obvious how much the Knights miss injured right wing Mark Stone.
“He’s such a big presence for us with everything he’s doing on the ice and off the ice,” forward Nicolas Roy said. “Of course we miss him, but we’ve got to find a way to do next man in.”
Penalty killing also remains an issue, as the Knights successfully killed 68.1 percent of opposing power plays since the All-Star break, the third-worst percentage in the NHL behind Ottawa and Dallas.
Calgary ranked 13th overall on the power play at the start of play Saturday, while Edmonton led the league at 29.8 percent. No team has finished a season with a better power-play success rate since the 1978-79 New York Islanders (31.1 percent).
“We kind of knew that this part of the schedule should have been circled for most of us because of the importance of the points and the way things have gone,” Knights leading scorer Max Pacioretty said. “At the same time, we’ve just got to worry about our game. Can’t get caught up in that. Can’t lose our focus on what’s really important.
“We’ve been building a good thing here. Obviously last game was a bit of a setback, but we’ve found ways to respond from games like that in the past.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.