The Three Things That Went Wrong Against the Kings

The Vegas Knights just got exposed against the Los Angeles Kings. Not many things went right for them but, what were the biggest flaws in the Knights’ game?

The Vegas Golden Knights just got blown out by pacific division rival, the Los Angeles Kings. Going into the game, I don’t think anyone quite expected it to turn out the way that it did, including me. However, there’s no denying that the fact that it just happened, and so now it’s back to the board.

There weren’t many things that seemed to go right that game, and all though it’s easier said than done, that performance was inexcusable. They can make the argument that with Mark Stone being hurt they weren’t healthy, but they weren’t exactly tearing it up prior to his injury. When one of the best parts of that game is the fact that your fourth line was the best line, that doesn’t speak to highly of the Knights top two lines. So what exactly went wrong?

Passing

I can’t stress how bad their passing was yesterday–You can’t expect to get the puck out of your defensive zone when you cannot complete passes. Yesterday it seemed like they were doing everything they could to get the puck out of their defensive zone. Their passing was off from the jump was quite pathetic, and I’d be lying if I said it got better as the game went on. Now, maybe I’m being a little harsh on the Knights given I was watching the game, they actually were out on the ice playing. Losing like that though, it’s unfamiliar to the Knights. Either way, it was quite embarrassing to go out and lose like they did.

Defensive Awareness

Next, the Knights obviously dug themselves into a hole with not being able to clear the puck out of the defensive zone. When you have a difficult time clearing the puck and completing passes, you’re going to be in for a long game-That’s exactly what it was.

Looking back on the game, one of the backlashes of not being able to clear the puck is that the opposition is going to be on attack for a majority of the game. They Kings put up 47 shots and were able to record six goals. If you were watching the game, the commentators went over some of the goals and broke it down and it helped me realize how poor the Knights positioning was.

When the Kings were along the perimeter looking for a shot, they were supposed to block off the angles. However, the Knights were committing to far up the ice. I suppose they were looking to force a turnover, but instead it allowed for multiple long distance slap shot goals. They dug themselves into a whole that they weren’t able to get out of.

Poor Execution

I stated above how the Kings were able to put up six goals on 47 shots. If you take a look at the other side on the Knights, they had two goals on 25 shots. However, if you take a look back at the game, the Knights had multiple chances in transition including a 4v1 and the Knights weren’t even able to get a shot off. The Knights struggled majorly on the offensive side while trying to come back from behind.

In conclusion, the Knights had a lot of rough go’s yesterday but were simply just outworked. The Kings were beating the Knights to every lose puck and wanted it more. However, the Knights are off for the next five days before taking on the St. Louis Blues.