It is back to normal in the NHL following the All-Star weekend, although the Vegas Golden Knights are now on their bye week.
Following the best the league has to offer this year got the chance to showcase their talents at the 2020 NHL All-Star Game in St. Louis over the weekend, all eyes are now on the remainder of the regular season for the Vegas Golden Knights and the rest of the NHL.
Granted, discussions now will revolve around the Trade Deadline on Feb. 24, which is rapidly approaching, but we are entering the stretch period of the year and that’s where the fun and games really begin.
But, for the Golden Knights, the next few weeks and months could resemble more of a house of horrors if they aren’t careful.
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Because, as talented as this roster is, it is also incredibly flawed and there are more questions than answers at this point.
And all of those questions will no doubt have been pondered by new Head Coach Peter DeBoer, who won’t be able to get his hands on his team until the end of the week when they return to action against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Of course, DeBoer has probably carried out a lot of work with his coaching staff over the last few days in order to implement systems, his non-negotiables and his way of doing things.
However, none of that can be fed to the players until they are back in the building and it will continue to be a transitional period for the next couple of weeks.
Time is running out, though, and the only saving grace for the Golden Knights is the fact that they find themselves in a Pacific Division that no team seems to want to win.
Vegas is currently in a five-horse race for the Pacific and with the Vancouver Canucks really starting to hit their groove, the Knights will need to find their game sooner rather than later.
There is a lot for DeBoer and this team to work out, however.
For instance, this team has struggled with secondary scoring all year and DeBoer must try to drag the likes of Alex Tuch and Cody Eakin out of slumps if the Golden Knights are to unlock their potential.
Then there is the alarming trend that has plagued this team all year in that they struggle to compete for an entire 60-minutes, with that inconsistency hurting them on countless occasions.
Just how does DeBoer unearth that magic formula called consistency and translate it to his team?
Only he can answer that question and that’s why General Manager Kelly McCrimmon made such a dramatic move by firing Gerard Gallant and bringing in DeBoer, because the front office quite clearly think that he is the man to get the best out of this team and lead them to postseason glory.
There will be help drafted in in the form of a defenseman and maybe a depth scorer either prior to or at the Trade Deadline, but a couple of players alone won’t help to cure all the ills.
This Vegas Golden Knights team needs to play better and more consistently as a group, and that is the bottom line.
And then there is the concern over whether or not Marc-Andre Fleury can find his game down the stretch and become the elite goalie that every team needs in the playoffs.
Because, to put it bluntly, without hot goaltending this team won’t still be playing come the early days of June, or even early May at that.
So, in a nutshell, there is a lot to be worked out by the Vegas Golden Knights and the clock will start ticking on Friday when they return to action against the Carolina Hurricanes, which will officially mark the start of the most important and defining period of the regular season.
We of course will be breaking down everything in more detail over the course of the next few days, but the Golden Knights will exit the All-Star break and the bye week in desperate need to rediscover their hockey identity and quick.
Otherwise, it could be a long and ugly ending to the regular season for the Vegas Golden Knights.