Cassidy Rips Golden Knights, ‘Total Lack of Respect’

Following his team’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres, Vegas Golden Knights Bruce Cassidy was at a loss for words.

“I’m still trying to digest what happened, to be honest with you.”

The Golden Knights started slow and never really woke up. 

“It was a total lack of respect, probably most of the night,” head coach Bruce Cassidy fumed. “But the way it ended kind of sums it up.” 

Cassidy, of course, is referring to Tomáš Hertl’s ill-advised attempt to force a pass to Jack Eichel when staring down an empty net. The Sabres took it back the other way and tied the game off the offensive zone face off. 

“I’d like to see him shoot the puck in the net and end the game. That’s what I’d like to see,” Cassidy remarked. “And I think the whole team would like to see that.”

When asked if there were pockets where the Golden Knights were able to get to their game, Cassidy remarked that he did not like much about Saturday’s efforts. 

“We weren’t very good most of the day. Pockets, yeah, there’s probably a few. We checked pretty well at the start of the third, I thought, for a game we weren’t that engaged in… You allow Buffalo’s defense to get going. That’s where you’ve got to wear them down, and we didn’t do a lot of that.”

Cassidy lamented the team’s lack of mental fortitude and discipline. The Golden Knights took two costly penalties– Adin Hill sailed the puck over the glass, and Pavel Dorofeyev tripped Connor Clifton in the neutral zone– that gave the Sabres life.

“The penalties we took, not under pressure. A delay of game, an offensive zone penalty again, three games in a row by the same player… Those are some things you’ve got to get out of your [game]. They’re going to happen periodically, but they’re going to cost you— and they have. They have on this trip.”