Golden Knights’ poor starts lead to poor home record

Coach Bruce Cassidy said it comes down to stubbornness.

The Golden Knights enter games at T-Mobile Arena looking to make plays rather than playing the simple, direct style of hockey that has served them so well on the road. That can lead to poor passes and turnovers against motivated opponents looking to prove themselves against the Pacific Division’s best team and potentially earn a day off in Las Vegas.

It’s a formula that’s not working.

The Knights are 8-8 at T-Mobile Arena, tied for the NHL’s 22nd-best home record. They’re 1-5 in their past six in their building and have fallen behind in four of those games.

It’s a cycle the team needs to break to resume their usual home dominance. And for Cassidy, it all starts at the beginning.

“You got to take what’s there, and we were willing to do that but not early on,” Cassidy said after Saturday’s 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders. “That’s where we have a problem right now. That’s why our record is .500 at home.”

The Knights’ struggles at T-Mobile Arena are surprising because it has been one of the NHL’s toughest buildings throughout its history.

The team was 118-53-17 at home in its first five seasons, the eighth-best record in the league. Even last season, when the Knights missed the playoffs for the first time, they were better at home (.585 points percentage) than on the road (.561).

Their problems become even more vexing considering the success they’ve had elsewhere. The Knights have the most road wins (14) and points (29) in the NHL this season. Their 14-2-1 record ranks second behind New Jersey (11-1-1).

So much of that road success has come down to starts.

Cassidy often opens games with the fourth line of left wing William Carrier, center Nicolas Roy and right wing Keegan Kolesar because they check well, put pucks behind the opposition and attack on the forecheck. They set the tone for how he wants the team to play.

The Knights have followed that example in most buildings but not the one where the team plays most often. They’ve outscored opponents 24-8 in the first period on the road and 14-9 at home. They trailed 1-0 to the Islanders at the first intermission.

“Just put ourselves in a little bit of a hole, and sometimes it’s tough to get out,” left wing Reilly Smith said. “They’re a good defensive team. They play well with the lead. We have to know that and come out with a better start.”

The Knights’ early goals away from home have made their games much more comfortable.

They’ve led for 474:51 and trailed for 157:48 in 17 road games. They’ve led for 298:31 in 16 home games and trailed for 273:12.

“We’ve had the lead for the majority of games on the road, and that helps,” Kolesar said.

Cassidy believes there’s no reason the Knights can’t follow that same blueprint at home. It’s just a matter of changing their approach to match what they’re doing on the road. Be patient, forecheck well and don’t make a costly mistake trying to force something to happen.

“At home, that’s been our problem is that we’re trying to make plays against every team that comes in here early in the game, and they’re ready to play and it’s not working out,” Cassidy said. “That’s a mindset that I’ve got to get across to these guys at home, that we have to manage the puck better.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.