Knights switch up blue line after 0-2-1 trip: ‘We haven’t been good’

The Golden Knights, by switching up their blue line, aren’t panicking. But they are trying to get themselves going.

The Knights went back to some familiar defense pairs at Monday’s practice after earning one of a possible six points from their three-game road trip.

Noah Hanifin is partnered with Alex Pietrangelo again, while Shea Theodore moved back to the right side and skated with longtime partner Brayden McNabb. The third pair also featured a reunion between Nic Hague and Zach Whitecloud.

“I’d say, in a nutshell, we haven’t been good back there,” coach Bruce Cassidy said.

Cassidy didn’t put all the Knights’ defensive issues — they have given up four goals in four of their six games — on the blue line.

But he believes going back to some familiar pairs could get his defensemen pointed in the right direction before the team begins a four-game homestand Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings.

The Knights were outscored 6-5 when Theodore and Pietrangelo shared the ice at five-on-five their first six games. They were outscored 5-4 when Hanifin and Hague were together.

The team did outscore its opponents 5-2 when McNabb and Whitecloud played, but it trailed in shot attempts 90-63 in those minutes.

It shouldn’t take long for the new pairs to find chemistry.

Theodore and McNabb have played together most of their eight years with the Knights. Hague and Whitecloud have been partners dating back to their days with the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves.

Hanifin and Pietrangelo played seven games together last year after Hanifin was acquired prior to the trade deadline in March. They were one of the Knights’ best pairings until Pietrangelo missed the final month of the regular season with appendicitis. The team outscored opponents 6-5 with the two on the ice at five-on-five.

“There’s really no newness to what we’re doing, so it’s not like panic and throw everything against the wall,” Cassidy said.

Hanifin is one player who could benefit from a change.

The 28-year-old, who signed an eight-year extension with the Knights in April, has one assist through six games and is minus-3 at five-on-five.

Hanifin said one thing the team’s blue line can improve on is taking better angles when defending the rush. Breakdowns on the road led to a 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday and a 4-3 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

“It’s a long season, and sometimes when you lose a couple in a row, there’s something to look at,” Hanifin said. “I think, for us, we have a pretty veteran (defense) core back there. I think we all know we can take it up a notch.”

Hanifin said the Knights failed to maintain some of their good habits on the road after a 3-0-0 start to the season.

They have a chance to right the ship this upcoming homestand, which features three games against Pacific Division foes. The turnaround might start with the blue-line shakeup.

“Sometimes it’s good to play with somebody new and freshen it up. But it’s up to us individually,” Hanifin said. “We’ve just lost three games in a row. Everybody has to play better.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.