Look, it's easy to poo-poo the Vegas Golden Knights when they don't have their main superstar. You need your team MVP to function at a high level and make marvelous plays. Unfortunately, Eichel was sick with the sniffles while dealing with an injury.
That makes it much easier to blame Vegas's woes on not having your best player on the ice. After all, you need him to set up goals and play all 200 feet of the ice. Eichel does all that and more, helping out on the power play and the penalty kill.
While that's easy to do, it's not that simple. You see, life has this uncanny ability to put stuff in layers and complicate things further. It's not life's fault, for it's merely bringing balance and meaning to our lives.
That's right, Thanos. You tell them what's up in life.
So, what's exactly to blame for the Golden Knights' abysmal road trip? Is it more than just not having Eichel or Shea Theodore around? What's the meaning behind Vegas not getting a single point in two games away from T-Mobile Arena?
The Vegas Golden Knights keep digging themselves in early holes and it's hurting them
The Vegas Golden Knights can't seem to get out of their own way without Eichel. Sure, they've done surprisingly well in scoring goals with three third period goals in the last two games. However, a bigger problem arises from the early deficits, particularly when you suddenly find yourself down 2-0 in a game.
Part of the problem has been the Golden Knights spending too much time in the neutral zone. As of Sunday, they led the NHL in time in the neutral zone (18.8%). While they're one of the top NHL teams in time in the offensive zone (41.4%), their problem is compounded by a bigger issue: giveaways.
The Golden Knights have the third-most giveaways in the NHL (16.50), with the problem plaguing everyone. That ranges from Eichel (54) to Mitch Marner (43) to Kaedan Korczak (39). Vegas keeps getting in its own way with handling the puck and it's devastating them, whether it's in the offensive end, the neutral zone, or the defensive end.
Of course, this leads to odd-man rushes or even breakaways, which puts the goaltender in a compromised position. How can you win the game for Carter Hart or Akira Schmid when they're suddenly on their toes from Connor McDavid coming at them? Goaltenders prefer not to make snap decisions when the attacker turns the puck over, which is why the Golden Knights must take better care of the puck.
What's interesting is that this isn't solely a Bruce Cassidy problem. In 2022-23, the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup and had 7.01 giveaways per game (sixth-fewest in the NHL). Go back a season and the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup with the second-fewest giveaways per game (6.91). In fact, the Florida Panthers had the eighth-fewest giveaways last season (14.34) en route to back-to-back Stanley Cups.
The point that's being made is that the Golden Knights keep making mental errors through rough passes and careless puck-handling. Although Eichel has had this problem this season, it's also a team-wide problem that could plague them in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It could also lead to an early exit that has fans questioning what went wrong.
Just don't blame it solely on not having Eichel right now.