Missed opportunity for Vegas Golden Knights who have plenty to work out

It was right there for them but the Vegas Golden Knights couldn’t go for the kill against the Boston Bruins, and they will now enter the bye week with a lot to figure out.

We did a piece on Tuesday on why it was important for the Vegas Golden Knights to go into the All-Star Break on a high, but they ultimately fell short at TD Garden last night.

And the most frustrating aspect of the loss was the fact that everything was in place for Vegas to secure a statement win and go into the bye on an almighty high.

They went 1/2 for on the power play and a perfect 5-5 on the penalty kill, while they took a 2-1 lead into the third period.

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Now, nine times out of 10, those are ingredients that would go into a winning recipe but the Knights imploded in the third period and came away from Boston empty-handed.

Jake DeBrusk made it a tied game early in the final period before David Krejci, who was a game-time decision, landed the knockout blow that consigned Vegas to a sixth defeat in January.

It was a tough loss and even tougher when you consider the circumstances.

Mark Stone had got the Golden Knights off to the perfect start just minutes into the first period after waltzing his way through a cluster of Boston bodies before backhanding the puck past Jaroslav Halak.

Even Jeremy Lauzon‘s first goal of the year couldn’t halt the Vegas train, which seemed to be approaching full steam when Nic Hague recorded his first NHL career goal.

However, as has often been the case this year, the Knights couldn’t keep their foot on the gas for the entire 60 minutes and they fell apart in the third period to officially bring the curtain down on a disappointing first-half of the 2019-20 regular season.

So, what next?

Well, to put it simply, there is a lot of hard work ahead.

For the players, they have a week off to recharge the batteries and prepare for what will be a titanic battle down the stretch.

Apart from Max Pacioretty, of course, who will now be getting ready to go to St. Louis to take part in his first-ever All-Star Game.

And, for new Head Coach Peter DeBoer and the rest of his coaching staff, it will be a case of getting down to the grind and working out how to navigate the final 30 games of the regular season.

There is a lot to figure out and a lot of questions to answer too.

For starters, DeBoer must assess what he has got to work with and then try to implement his systems and his non-negotiables ready for when the players return.

Because, there can be little margin for error now.

Locked in a five horse way for the Pacific Division, with the Vancouver Canucks currently leading the pack, the Vegas Golden Knights must establish who they are as a team and quick or risk looking in from the outside come the playoffs.

As talented as this roster is, you won’t be successful in the NHL if you don’t cover the basics and master the intangibles.

Unfortunately, too many times this year the Golden Knights have failed to do the little things right and they are being undone by losing the game of inches.

They are nowhere near consistent enough, the main hallmark of any contending team, and there are clear flaws on this roster that need addressing at the Trade Deadline, including the lack of secondary scoring and adding a top four defenseman to that blueline.

The Golden Knights had an opportunity to sign off before the bye on a high by beating an elite team in the Bruins and, while that win alone wouldn’t have cured all their ills, it would certainly have helped and generated a feel-good factor heading into what is now the critical portion of the regular season.

And it was there for the taking.

Instead, Vegas choked and the loss on Tuesday arguably epitomizes this season, an inability to take advantage of a lead, go for the kill and close the game out.

Granted, as already mentioned, there is talent on this roster and it is likely they can still go on a tear down the stretch and win the Pacific Division.

But there is no getting away from the fact that it was an opportunity lost in Boston on Tuesday and the Vegas Golden Knights will have to live with that as they prepare to do some soul searching and plot a return to the peak of their powers after the bye week.