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Golden Knights search for solutions to scoring slump

Updated September 7, 2020 - 4:05 pm

With the Golden Knights mired in a scoring slump at the most inopportune time, several of the team’s offensive leaders have been conspicuously absent from the goal ledger.

Coach Pete DeBoer pushed back against the notion that the Knights need more production from their top-six forwards entering Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against Dallas on Tuesday in Edmonton, Alberta.

The Stars lead the best-of-seven series after blanking the Knights in the opener.

“I think in Game 6 and 7 in the Vancouver series, I couldn’t ask any more of our top players,” DeBoer said. “We hit a red-hot goalie. I think (Sunday) night, we needed more out of everybody. You guys (the media) are lumping in statistics together in totally different situations.”

Vancouver backup goaltender Thatcher Demko was the primary culprit for the Knights’ offensive drought in recent days, as he stopped 123 of 125 shots during the final three games of the conference semifinals.

Dallas’ Anton Khudobin made 25 mostly routine saves as the Knights were blanked for the second time in three games Sunday.

In the past 240 minutes of action, the Knights have two goals when a goalie was in the net and both were scored by defenseman Shea Theodore.

“Well, you know, listen, the last two, arguably three games against Vancouver, against a normal goaltending performance, we’re getting lots of goals,” DeBoer said. “Two totally different games. We didn’t do enough as forwards to generate chances last game. The other games, you’re playing a goalie that’s standing on his head. You can’t lump those things in all together.”

But the Knights’ inconsistent offensive output dates back further than Demko’s heroics.

In their past 11 games, the Knights scored two or fewer goals six times, compiling a 1-5 record. That doesn’t include Game 7 against the Canucks when they scored two empty-net goals after Theodore broke the goalless deadlock on a power play with 6:08 remaining in the third period.

In those six games, the Knights produced four goals at five-on-five, and the top two forward lines were on the ice for one of those. Along with two goals by Theodore, reserve fourth-line center Patrick Brown and Alex Tuch had the others.

Since the Knights’ dominant showing in Game 1 against Vancouver on Aug. 23, Jonathan Marchessault and Mark Stone have a minus-3 goal differential at even strength. Reilly Smith and William Karlsson are at minus-2.

Stone, who is second in scoring behind Theodore, has one goal in his past seven games. Same for Karlsson.

Smith hasn’t scored since Game 1 against Vancouver and has three points in the past seven games.

Marchessault has one point, an assist on Paul Stastny’s empty-net goal, since he apologized for making vulgar comments on his Instagram account after Game 2 of the previous series.

The Knights are 3-4 during that stretch and averaging 2.0 goals per game with a minus-1 goal differential (14-15).

However, in the Knights’ four wins against Vancouver, Stone and Smith combined for three goals and 10 points. Karlsson and Marchessault each had a goal and an assist.

In other words, as the top players go, so go the Knights this postseason.

“I think as a group we just have to be committed to being in front of the net,” Stone said. “Making it a little more difficult. Picking up some loose pucks. There’s pucks around there that we can get to and bang in that we haven’t been.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.

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