7 Observations: Lifeless, Unmotivated Golden Knights Blanked by Jets

Thursday’s game was an opportunity for the Vegas Golden Knights (45-22-8) to get into playoff mode against one of the top teams in the Western Conference. Instead, they came out flat and played a lifeless 40 minutes. They pushed in the third period, but it wasn’t enough; the Winnipeg Jets (52-20-4) weathered the storm for a perfect 4-0 victory.

All night, the Golden Knights were a step behind. Their passes were a bit off. They looked like a team with nothing to play for. 

The Jets broke the ice at 13:01 in the first period. Luke Schenn sent a stretch pass for Alex Iafallo who got around Brayden McNabb and entered the zone. Iafallo faked a shot and fed Mark Scheifele a beautiful backhand pass; Scheifele slammed the puck into the empty net. 

With 1:45 remaining in the first period, the Jets extended their lead. Nino Niederreiter batted down Logan Stanley’s shot from the point. Brayden McNabb left his man and lost a puck battle, leaving Adam Lowry free to collect the loose change and score.

The Jets got their first power play opportunity halfway through the second period. They have the second-best power play in the league, and it showed. The Jets cycled the puck well; their passes were crisp, and they didn’t try to force anything. The Golden Knights could do nothing but watch as Colin Miller fired a one-timer past Adin Hill; Zach Whitecloud, hobbled after blocking a shot, unintentionally took away Hill’s vision. 

Akira Schmid replaced Adin Hill to start the third period.

Down 3-0, the Golden Knights outshot the Jets 14-3 in the third period. It seemed like the Golden Knights spent the entire period in Winnipeg’s zone, but the Jets weathered the storm. 

“The problem is, we had our chances after we were chasing the game,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy. “If it’s 0-0, 1-0, you’re one goal away. Both nights now, it’s been multiple goals that we’ve had to chase.”

Cassidy pulled Schmid with 5:28 remaining in the third period. Try as they might, the Golden Knights couldn’t get anything past Eric Comrie. Cole Perfetti buried the dagger into the empty net to end their misery.

Three stars of the game: Eric Comrie, Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry

7 Golden Knights Observations

1 .The Golden Knights’ loss on Thursday snapped an eight-game win streak against the Jets.

2. It was a bad night for Brayden McNabb. The Jets’ first goal was a strange one. I’m not sure I would call it a fortuitous bounce— McNabb got a stick on Luke Schenn’s stretch pass, and the puck deflected up and into Alex Iafallo’s face– but it’s not often that you see a player get around McNabb as easily as Iafallo did. McNabb was completely lost on Winnipeg’s second tally. He left Adam Lowry unguarded at the side of the net; when the puck bounced away from Nino Niederreiter, Lowry was right there to sweep it around Adin Hill.

3. I understand why Hill started tonight. The Jets are one of the best—if not the best—teams in the Western Conference, and the Golden Knights wanted to see how they measured up. On Thursday, they didn’t measure up, and Hill bore the brunt of it. 

4. Akira Schmid replaced Adin Hill in the third period. Thursday was Hill’s fifth start in ten days, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Schmid got the start in Calgary on Saturday.

5. The Golden Knights weren’t their best in January, but it seemed like they’d righted the ship. The quality of their play dropped at the end of last week’s road trip, but I chalked that up to playing two games in 22 hours, plus the travel. The past two games have been fairly concerning. This isn’t how they want to look going into the postseason.

6. Speaking of the postseason, the Golden Knights are now on track to play the St. Louis Blues in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blues are on an 11-game winning streak, and the matchup doesn’t exactly favor the Golden Knights with their current play.

7. The Golden Knights play a very scrappy Flames team in Calgary on Saturday. They’ll need to bring their A-Game, or this two-game skid could worsen. 

“Execution wasn’t at its highest tonight,” said Golden Knights captain Mark Stone. “You can feel sorry for yourselves, or you can pick yourself up off the mat and get back to work and put in your best effort on Saturday night… We’re not going to roll over… We’ll bounce back and get ourselves ready to go.”