The Vegas Golden Knights wish to make a deep playoff run. They’ve made the playoffs in seven of eight years as a franchise, winning the Stanley Cup in 2023. The team brought in star players on the trade deadline, including the Golden Knights trading for Rasmus Anderson.
While the team stockpiled talent for the upcoming playoff run, they’ve also lost seven of their last ten games. Now, head coach Bruce Cassidy is talking about what has to vary to make a playoff run, per Danny Webster of The Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“Those are our top guys. They’ve struggled at 5-on-5 and the ability play. They’ve got to get their confidence back to make plays. You possibly can get away with it for some time, however it’s various games now. It’s got to vary for us,” Cassidy said.
It has been a dreadful offensive stretch for the Golden Knights. Of their last five games, they’ve managed just five goals. The team is sixteenth within the NHL this season, scoring 3.11 goals per game. Since getting back from the Olympic break, the team has just five wins and is averaging 2.26 goals per game, one among the worst marks within the NHL.
While Cassidy didn’t call out any specific player, there have been some who’re clearly struggling. Jack Eichel has just six points in his last 13 games, while Mark Stone had just two in eight games before an injury. Mitch Marner and Pavel Dorofeyev have been the most efficient players as of late, each with 11 points of their last 13 games.
The Golden Knights are actually 32-26-14 on the yr, which places them in third within the Pacific Division. That places them in third within the Division, and just 4 points in front of the Los Angeles Kings for a playoff spot. They return to the ice on Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers.