"A Lot Of Self-Inflicted Errors"; Bruce Cassidy On Loss To The Sabres And What's Gone Wrong On The Road Trip
Bruce Cassidy wasn't happy with last night's game against the Buffalo Sabres and referenced the numerous turnovers and self-inflicted errors by the Vegas Golden Knights but these errors represent a bigger picture on the Golden Knights season.
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports - "A Lot Of Self-Inflicted Errors"; Bruce Cassidy On Loss To The Sabres And What's Gone Wrong On The Road TripBruce Cassidy wasn't happy with last night's game against the Buffalo Sabres and referenced the numerous turnovers and self-inflicted errors by the Vegas Golden Knights but these errors represent a bigger picture on the Golden Knights season.
The self-inflicted errors are being represented in more than just yesterday's game. The Golden Knights are 3-6-1 in their last ten games with regulation losses to the Minnesota Wild, Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and now the Buffalo Sabres. Four out of the six teams are currently in a playoff spot which shows the bigger picture of what is going wrong with the Golden Knights.
The Golden Knights are 12-15-2 in their last 29 games and are 22-21-6 since they started the season red hot going 11-0-1.
The Golden Knights have had to deal with injuries to their star players on multiple instances this season. Shea Theodore, Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Mark Stone and Adin Hill have all missed extended periods of time but even with those injuries, the on-ice performance the Golden Knights have shown hasn't been good enough.
The Golden Knights have given up the eleventh fewest goals this season but over the last 10 games they've given up 40 goals and four goals per game. The Golden Knights on the season give up 2.9 goals per game, a full goal difference is hard for any team to overcome and it becomes that much more difficult when missing two of your best offensive players.
The current Eastern conference road trip the team is on has put a spotlight on these issues and Cassidy has noticed it.
"Not managing the puck well at the offensive blue line, a shot block came back the other way, a bobbled puck and these are easy goals. You can't out-score your mistakes every night in this league."
The Golden Knights haven't struggled to score on this road trip. They've scored 15 goals but only have one win to show for it. Cassidy doesn't believe they've sacrificed defensively to create offence.
"I don't think we're getting caught up the ice and bad decisions, we're just making poor plays with the puck and I think how do we rebound, we need the healthy group of our lineup which is our d-core and the strength of our team to play better, to execute better and to lead this team."
The Golden Knights are starting to find themselves in a dangerous spot. The Edmonton Oilers have already taken second place in the division from the Golden Knights and now the Los Angeles Kings are creeping up. The Kings are three points back of the Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific division and have two games in hand.
The Golden Knights have an eight-point lead on the Calgary Flames and the St. Louis Blues who are attempting to chase the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
If Cassidy can't find a way to get his team to play to their identity, the Golden Knights playoff hopes could be in jeopardy.
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