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Vegas Golden Knights: Three players who need to step it up after bye week

By Andrew Steele-Davis

BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 21: Vegas Golden Knights right wing Alex Tuch (89) watches a face off during a game between the Boston Bruins and the Vegas Golden Knights on January 21, 2020, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 21: Vegas Golden Knights right wing Alex Tuch (89) watches a face off during a game between the Boston Bruins and the Vegas Golden Knights on January 21, 2020, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 21: Vegas Golden Knights right wing Alex Tuch (89) watches a face off during a game between the Boston Bruins and the Vegas Golden Knights on January 21, 2020, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 21: Vegas Golden Knights right wing Alex Tuch (89) watches a face off during a game between the Boston Bruins and the Vegas Golden Knights on January 21, 2020, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

We are on the other side of the All-Star break now which means that the business part of the year is here for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Entrenched in an ultra-competitive five-horse race for the Pacific Division, the Vegas Golden Knights face a defining few months as they bid to live up to their status as a contender.

About to enter the second-half of the 2019-20 regular season with a disappointing 25-20-7 record, the Golden Knights need to find their identity as a team and fast.

They certainly need to add the magic ingredient that is consistency to their game, while certain players need to step up to the plate.

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And that leads us on to the main objective of this article.

While the likes of Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone, Reilly Smith and Shea Theodore have been lights out this year, too many players have performed well below expectations.

While superstars of course exist in the NHL, hockey is ultimately a team game and you aren’t going to taste success if a handful of players aren’t pulling their weight.

Poor goaltending will also sink a team and, as has often been the case this year, the Golden Knights are not getting elite play from the men between the pipes.

A lack of secondary scoring coupled with a bucketload of mistakes and turnovers on the blueline has combined for a perfect storm of error-laden performances by a team that was supposed to be at the peak of its powers and ready to really contend for the Stanley Cup.

However, there is a hell of a lot of work to be done if the Vegas Golden Knights are going to unlock their potential and enjoy a deep postseason run.

And certain players will also need to enjoy a resurgence down the stretch, so we picked out three in particular that need to really step it up for the Knights…

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