There's plenty of finger-pointing and blame to go around for the Vegas Golden Knights after Tuesday's loss. One can blame Adin Hill because he's the low-hanging fruit. One can blame the reckless play that the team has established throughout the game, taking dumb penalty after dumb penalty.
However, Bruce Cassidy has an alternate take on the deal. The head coach called out the lack of offensive production in Tuesday's press conference. He relieved Hill of any blame and called out his top guys for not scoring enough.
"Tonight wasn't a night about the goaltender, it was about our lack of execution offensively." -Cassidy
— SinBin.vegas 🇺🇸🥇 (@SinBinVegas) March 25, 2026
Mind you, this is the same Golden Knights team with five goals in their past five games. They've struggled to do anything of substance, aside from pulling off a gritty 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars on Sunday. Even that isn't good enough, as fans are left with more questions than answers about the team.
That has seeped over to the power play, which only has nine goals since the Olympic break concluded (40 opportunities). Who scored the goals, you ask? Well, there are some names you know and some you wouldn't expect to score power play goals.
- Pavel Dorofeyev: Four
- Tomas Hertl: Two
- Ivan Barbashev: One
- Rasmus Andersson: One
- Shea Theodore: One
Yikes.
Bruce Cassidy must go crazy with an all-time line shakeup for the Golden Knights
Before Sunday's game against the Dallas Stars, Cassidy did one of his patented lineup shakeups, shuffling everyone around. That included Mitch Marner playing center and Reilly Smith re-entering the lineup. Lo and behold, the Original Misfit gets the game-winning goal as Vegas salvages the only win on its three-game road trip.
While that was good for Dallas, that wasn't good enough for Winnipeg. The Golden Knights reverted to their stagnant ways, only getting offense from Rasmus Andersson... on the power play. No Eichel, no Stone, and no Hertl.
What Cassidy needs more than ever is a massive lineup shakeup that will shake the group to its core. That means that Barbashev-Eichel-Stone must be ditched. When your Captain only has two assists since the Olympic break and Eichel has no points in the last six games, it's time to try something different.
A couple of suggestions for a complete lineup shakeup
Now, this is going to extend to the defensive pairs, too. One pair I've heard people call for is Shea Theodore and Jeremy Lauzon. Lauzon adds a physical touch and complements the Misfit well. The pair could be a terrific surprise for Golden Knights fans if given the opportunity.
As for the forwards, Mark Stone, Brett Howden, and Mitch Marner could work wonders. They have an xGoals% of 68.3 (best on the Golden Knights, minimum of 100 minutes, stats courtesy of MoneyPuck) and allow an xGoals Against of 2.6 (best on the Golden Knights). While there hasn't been much in the line of xGoals For (5.6), they haven't actually gotten the opportunity to shine. Let's see how two speedsters do with a grizzled veteran like Stone.
Howden could also thrive atop the top unit alongside Eichel. The gold medalist hasn't done much with his current linemates, so why not freshen things up with a fresh body? That could prove to be perfect for him and snap him out of his six-game funk.
Regardless, the Golden Knights need answers and they need them immediately. The season's winding down and they're dropping every opportunity to gain ground in a weak Pacific Division. Cassidy's lineup shakeup better be his best one yet. Otherwise, the team will miss out on the postseason.