‘We’re not playing well enough’: Knights test Cassidy’s patience

The Golden Knights’ recent struggles haven’t just tested the players’ resolve.

It’s testing the patience of coach Bruce Cassidy.

The second-year Knights coach has not been shy about criticizing his team’s play. The Knights are 24-24-6 since starting the season 11-0-1, the best start ever for a defending Stanley Cup champion.

As a result, the Knights are clinging to the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. They lead by four points over the Minnesota Wild, who are 6-3-1 in their past 10 games.

The Knights have a game in hand and can still get out of the wild-card race should the Los Angeles Kings falter down the stretch, but it’s been a trying time for Cassidy.

“I’d like to see them have some urgency and realize it’s not automatic that we’re going to get a chance to repeat. You’ve got to earn your way in,” Cassidy said after the Knights’ 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday. “We’re not playing well enough right now to assure that.”

Cassidy has talked about there being good pockets of hockey at times but not consistently.

The Knights, at times, appeared to hit their stride during their five-game road trip that started in Ottawa on Feb. 24.

They lost by a combined score of 12-6 against Nashville and Toronto before embarking for Ontario, where the Knights lost 4-3 in a shootout.

Three days later, the Knights played their best game in almost a month with a 6-2 win over the Maple Leafs.

Even after falling behind 3-0 in the first period Feb. 29 in Boston, then tying the score 4-4 in the third period, the Knights lost 5-4 to Cassidy’s former Bruins team.

Instead of building on that, the Knights lost 7-2 in Buffalo on March 2, then 6-3 two days later to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the last-place team in the Eastern Conference.

“I don’t know if our guys just think they’re better than they are right now and can get away with playing mediocre-to-average hockey for long stretches at key times of the game,” Cassidy said.

The Knights appeared to take a step forward.

They held the high-octane Canucks to three goals in a 3-1 loss, then followed with a 5-3 win against Detroit and a come-from-behind 5-4 win in Seattle on Tuesday.

The Knights took a 1-0 lead into the third period in Calgary before surrendering four consecutive goals.

The Knights relied on their defense and goaltending to power their way to the Stanley Cup. Despite having almost all their original defensemen intact — and adding Noah Hanifin at the trade deadline — and goaltender Adin Hill winning a career-high 17 games, the Knights have been outscored 58-44 while going 4-9-1 in their past 14 games.

“It just has to be better,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “We have a lead, we should be trying to push. We’re fighting for the playoffs right now, and the fight’s not there.”

The Knights start a four-game homestand Sunday against the New Jersey Devils and play three of their next four games against nonplayoff teams.

“Does it change? We’ll find out in a month if it’s going to change,” Cassidy said. “It’s time to grab people by the shirt and say, ‘Hey, let’s go.’”

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