It's no secret that the Vegas Golden Knights need scoring. They only have five goals in their last five games, ensuring that there's trouble in paradise. Like, take a look at who hasn't scored in recent memory.
We're talking about Jack Eichel not having a point in his past six games. You can also look at Mark Stone only having two assists since the Olympic Break as another shining example. What about Tomas Hertl? He's been absent in recent memory, steering away from the scoresheet all the way to March 6.
Bro, that's almost three weeks that we're talking about here. If there was a worse time to go on an all-time offensive drought, it would be March. Mind you, this is usually the time when the Golden Knights are firing on all cylinders and preparing for a deep Stanley Cup playoff run. But this season? Not so much.
Their next opponent isn't going to be easy, either. The Edmonton Oilers enter Thursday's game with the best player in the world in Connor McDavid. They've found ways to make the offense work, sans Leon Draisaitl. Most of all, they're coming in angry.
Perhaps there's no better time to get a win against your hated rivals than now. The Golden Knights are starting to see the competition catch up to them, with teams like the Los Angeles Kings and the Seattle Kraken looming large. What better time to send Edmonton off to get their shine boxes than on Thursday?
Why the Vegas Golden Knights need to make Thursday's game against the Edmonton Oilers into a barnburner
Let's completely honest for a second. You're not going to get a low-scoring affair here. Even without Draisaitl, the Oilers can pull scoring from almost any spot. That ranges from Zach Hyman to Evan Bouchard to even Jack Roslovic. Therefore, you can throw any dim hope of Adin Hill or another netminder allow two or fewer goals out of the window.
That puts the burden of winning Thursday's game entirely on the skaters. That means getting Jack Eichel to power through any pain he's playing through to score. Ditto for Mark Stone, who needs a monster game to keep the Oilers at bay. Whatever the case, the Golden Knights must put up some monster numbers on Thursday and snap out of their offensive funk.
That's especially true with the Oilers not being able to stop anythign heading their way this season. They have a team GAA of 3.38 (28th in the NHL) and a team save percentage of .880 (tied for 30th in the NHL with... the Golden Knights), making for some dismal numbers. Therefore, the objective for Thursday is to ensure the team actually gets off to a fast start against Edmonton.
Granted, that's easier said than done for this season's Golden Knights. However, the group knows that time is running out on the regular season. Sure, the Pacific Division is absolutely abysmal this season. But are you going to continue to fumble opportunities with a lacking offense every night?