When you're winning in life, you don't have much to worry about. You're enjoying the waves and chilling with the beat, enjoying the music that comes with life. That was the feeling starting in January for the Vegas Golden Knights, who were grooving along and enjoying life atop the NHL hierarchy.
Then, a funny thing happened on January 9. The Golden Knights were shut out by the New York Islanders, 4-0. Keegan Kolesar, Alex Pietrangelo, Ivan Barbashev, and others didn't score a goal. But it was one loss. No big deal.
But one loss turned into two. They defeated Marc-Andre Fleury and the Minnesota Wild on the last game of the homestand, though. No worries. But there was a road trip looming. That included games against Jonathan Marchessault and Alec Martinez—a chance to redeem yourself and have a winning trip. Everything's good... Until it wasn't.
The Golden Knights lost all three games. allowing 13 goals in that stretch. Now, Vegas heads home, losers of five of their last six contests. What's a team to do when life suddenly gets harder? How can they adjust and get back to their winning ways?
That's the question that'll be answered today. With that, let's get our scalpels and put on our scrubs and diagnose three problem players with the Golden Knights right now. The trio of players haven't done much during the six-game stretch, leaving the team without much help. Here are three players that must step up during the team's current rough patch.
Ivan Barbashev
When Ivan Barbashev made his long-awaited return to the Vegas Golden Knights on January 11 against the New York Rangers, everyone was ecstatic.
"OMG, my Emotional Support Russian's back!"
"Our top line's only going to get better now."
"Finally, the hard-hitting winger is back to wreck some people."
Well, that's what fans were thinking when the winger made his long-awaited return. However, the 29-year-old hasn't done anything of substance with the team. In fact, he hasn't made a single point since coming back against the Rangers. Barbashev has fired off nine shots in 16:05 of average TOI. None of these shots have connected for a goal.
Part of the team's current woes is a lack of evened-out scoring. Heading into Saturday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks, four different players accounted for goals during the team's five-game stretch. If the Golden Knights want to return to winning, that starts with getting their top line productive again. That means Barbashev must get on the board, especially with a tougher road trip looming.