LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Golden Knights did many things well Tuesday night against the Lightning, but still walked away with a 5-3 loss on home ice.
Vegas has split the first two games of a four-game home-stand. If the playoffs started today, VGK would own the second wild card spot in the western conference.
Special teams have proven to be an issue for the Knights, the team going 0-3 on power play against Tampa. It's one of several areas the team is focusing on ahead of Thursday night's home matchup against the Seattle Kraken.
Channel 13 sports reporter Nick Walters was at Wednesday's light practice. The guys in gold tell us that despite their up-and-down play this calendar year, their confidence is far from shaken.
"We're getting farther away from the poor pockets of hockey and better at getting back to our game," head coach Bruce Cassidy said at his presser. "If it was November, December, you have lots of time to work on it. But it's March so we have less time and we have to get there quicker. But I'm positive about the direction of the team."
"That's been the issue of the later half of the season," forward William Karlsson said of the team's inconsistent play. "I think we were pretty good at the start obviously. It's tough. We just got to simplify things and play hard, win the races and battles and stuff like that."
Sitting at fourth place in the pacific division with 14 games to go in their regular season, Golden Knights have been plagued by injuries for several months. While captain Mark Stone is still sidelined until playoffs, he and newly-acquired Tomas Hertl are the only two VGK players on IR.
A clean bill of health is a reason for optimism in the building, especially considering the team's path to the Cup last year.
"Mark was obviously out last year too and we found a way," forward Paul Cotter said. "When you're doing good and your captain comes back, it's a whole other splurge of energy. Hopefully we can get to that point and when he comes back it'll be pretty awesome."
The Golden Knights host the Kraken on Thursday night at 7:30 before hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night at 7:30. Then the team embarks on a two-week stretch full of travel, 7 of 8 games being on the road.
"Every game now is crucial," Karlsson said. "Getting these two games and these four points will be huge. Hopefully we have a confident group heading into the road trip."