The Vegas Golden Knights outshot the New York Islanders, 15-4, in the second period. In fact, they outshot the Islanders, 35-14, throughout the game. What's more, they actually won more faceoffs in the contest (29-26). One would think that all those shots would eventually lead to a Golden Knights victory, especially against a team outside of the playoff picture. Well...
The Islanders still won the game, 2-1. A late third-period goal by Brock Nelson was the game-winner for the home team as New York improved to 25-21-7 (57 points). Meanwhile, the Golden Knights dropped to 31-17-6 on the season, still at 68 points.
Granted, it's tough scoring on a goaltender like Ilya Sorokin. The Russian netminder stopped 34 of 35 shots, including all 15 in the second period. However, the Golden Knights were as dry as a flaccid eel in the desert. The only means of offense was the newcomer, Brandon Saad. He scored his eighth of the year, winning a battle in front of the net to tie the game.
But the problem with the offense has many layers to it, dear reader. You see, it isn't the power play that's the problem. No, a unit with a power play percentage of 38.7% since January 9 deserves more praise from the fanbase. However, it's an inverse world of sorts for the Golden Knights, where they're also 3-8-3 in that stretch. So what's the solution to the problem?
What's going on with Vegas?
Bruce Cassidy deployed a unique system on Tuesday night against the New York Islanders. The head coach played 11 forwards and seven defensemen, different from his usual 12-6 lineup. While they were on the attack throughout the game, they only had Brandon Saad's goal to hang on.
Nothing from Jack Eichel.
Nothing from Mark Stone.
Nothing from Ivan Barbashev.
Speaking of the top line, Cassidy also tried putting Victor Olofsson on Eichel's right wing. Let's just say he scored as much as Beavis and Butthead, notching only two shots. Now that calls for some hardened play.
But back to Stone and Barbashev for a second. The Captain has had one goal since January 12. While he has no problem piling up the assists (10 since that date), the dry spell has hit him. For the Russian winger, he hasn't scored since he returned on January 11. In fact, he has three assists since his return. It short, he's slumped. Hard.
Other players have had it rough as well. When was the last time you saw Brett Howden score a goal aside from January 20? You'd have to go back to December 29 for that one, dear reader. Keegan Kolesar? His last goal came on January 12. He's had three points since that game. One can say the team's simply tired, having played excellent hockey in December only to falter in January. It was a problem stated across the Golden Knights universe, with fans and experts calling for change.
How to fix the Vegas Golden Knights offensively
As mentioned, Bruce Cassidy has done some tinkering in his lineup to shake the Vegas Golden Knights out of their slumber. He did it on Tuesday against the New York Islanders (to little success) and will try something else for Thursday's game against the New Jersey Devils.
But maybe it's true that the team needs to rest up. With names like William Karlsson shelved (and replaced by Richard Rakell in the 4 Nations Face-Off), now's a great time for the team to recharge and reload. You saw it against the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets last week, where the Golden Knights simply ran out of steam.
That was no different on Tuesday against the Islanders, where Ilya Sorokin was the human embodiment of a brick wall. The team needs to rest and not overexert themselves too much. A lineup change might also be what the doctor ordered, too. After all, Cassidy isn't afraid of making the necessary changes to win hockey games. It's a good thing there are only two games left before the break. Otherwise, this team would turn limp.