Even after getting Mark Stone back from a wrist injury, the Vegas Golden Knights are in an odd position heading into Thanksgiving. Oh yeah, they're in second place in the Pacific Division with 28 points. However, there are some caveats with this.
First, they're in a dogfight with the Seattle Kraken, the Anaheim Ducks, and the Los Angeles Kings for Pacific Division supremacy. Bizarrely enough, there are no Edmonton Oilers in sight, as it's the current guard and the young guys. Second, the Golden Knights have a 10-5-8 record.
That's why Mark Stone's postgame comments from Wednesday's shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators are telling. It reveals an interesting side to Vegas's early struggles, showing what's truly happening with the Golden Knights.
"Getting down early in the game is killing us. We know we're going to wear them down eventually... We just have to start that way."Mark Stone
Here's the thing. Vegas was down 2-0 in Wednesday's game against the Senators. Akira Schmid let in a couple of soft goals that he should've stopped, putting Vegas in an early hole. Pretty strange, right?
But that's not all. This has been a recurring pattern for the Golden Knights this season. In fact, this has happened throughout the 2025-26 season. Here are some shining examples of what the Captain's talking about.
What Mark Stone's talking about with the Vegas Golden Knights stems back to "Opening Knight"
Let's go back to the first game of the regular season. The Golden Knights are taking on the Los Angeles Kings, seeking more "Opening Knight" magic. But there's one small problem: the Kings jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period. They'd go on to win in a shootout, 6-5.
Let's go to the next day in San Jose (Rhymes Like Dimes!) for another example. Jeff Skinner gets the game's first goal and the Golden Knights are suddenly in a dogfight against the Sharks. It took Alex Nedeljkovic to commit two costly errors to give the Golden Knights their first win of the season.
A week later, the Golden Knights found themselves down 2-0 against... the Calgary Flames. Fortunately, they won that game, 4-2. But are you seeing the picture? It's taking Herculean efforts from the Golden Knights to dig themselves out of these holes.
While it's not as deadly in the regular season, that could catch up to them during the Stanley Cup playoffs. When you're playing against teams like the Colorado Avalanche and the Anaheim Ducks, you can't afford to make early mistakes. Sure, there are some injuries to key players such as William Karlsson and Adin Hill. But Stone's point still stands.
If Vegas continus to walk the comeback tightrope, they're bound to eventually fall off it. For a team with all the talent and skill in the world, that's something that you can't do. Bruce Cassidy and his boys know it and they must fix this problem quickly. Otherwise, they'll be clawing at the dirt while gasping for air.