The Vegas Golden Knights have misplaced 4 video games in a row and 7 of their final eight to fall out of first place within the Pacific Division.
The group will look to erase a way of foreboding within the locker room on Sunday night once they go to the Chicago Blackhawks.
“I believe we’re simply discovering methods to lose video games proper now,” Golden Knights defenseman Kaedan Korczak mentioned.
Vegas sustained its newest loss Friday in St. Louis, rallying from a two-goal deficit earlier than permitting the Blues to attain the go-ahead objective with 1:33 remaining within the third interval in a 4-3 final result. St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn scored after a rebound off an odd-man rush deflected off his skate and previous Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart.
After falling 6-5 to Colorado in a shootout on Dec. 27, the Golden Knights have simply seven targets of their previous three video games, however Vegas captain Mark Stone is using a three-game objective streak.
The group additionally welcomed the return of prime scorer Jack Eichel (41 factors) on Friday; he had missed the previous seven video games with an sickness and upper-body damage.
“He’d been out awhile, so not loads of observe time with us, if any,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy mentioned. “His timing was off, for certain.”
Vegas has surrendered 30 non-shootout targets prior to now seven video games.
“Good groups discover a solution to win,” Cassidy mentioned. “We have got to get again to that.”
The Blackhawks, in the meantime, will attempt to match a season excessive with their third straight victory on Sunday.
After permitting visiting Washington to attain the game-tying objective halfway via the third interval on Saturday, Chicago regrouped for a 3-2 victory. Captain Nick Foligno’s objective within the sixth spherical of a shootout lifted the Blackhawks.
Veteran Teuvo Teravainen, who scored in his third straight sport, has seen the group’s youthful core proceed to develop in a run that features three victories in 5 video games (3-1-1).
“It builds their confidence,” Teravainen mentioned. “They make some performs in the appropriate moments, and naturally they’ll make some unhealthy performs additionally generally. This group is sweet. They’re studying, and it is a massive win.”
Regardless of the expertise stage, the Blackhawks have strived for higher opening sequences in video games. They discovered one in Washington, with Ryan Donato redirecting an Ilya Mikheyev shot for the sport’s first objective at 1:13 of the primary interval.
“I liked our begin,” Foligno mentioned. “It is an space that we wanted to get a bit of bit higher in. I assumed tonight on the street, towards a very good group, we simply competed, simply form of constructed on our sport.”
Chicago has ventured into shootouts in three of the previous 5 video games.
The Golden Knights can seize the three-game season collection towards the Blackhawks with a victory. Vegas edged Chicago 4-3 in a shootout on Dec. 2. Hart stopped 27 photographs, Ivan Barbashev and Braeden Bowman every scored and arrange a objective, and defenseman Shea Theodore earned two assists.
Theodore, nevertheless, stays sidelined with an upper-body damage.
–Subject Stage Media