DALLAS – Puck management giveth and taketh away. Responsible puck management gives wins. Irresponsible handling of the puck means losses.
The phrase puck management has been at the top of the list Bruce Cassidy has employed during his time as head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights.
So, as the Golden Knights have hit a bump in the road on this trip away from Vegas – going 1-2-1 so far on this five-game journey – it didn’t take Cassidy long to lean on his catchphrase when asked for his view on his team’s current play.
“There’s a lot to like. We have gotten good results. We were focused on improving the special teams. I think we’ve seen that. We are generating a lot of offense the last six or seven games, we just haven’t finished,” he said, minutes after coming off the ice and a practice session in Dallas. “As a coach, in the big picture, you want that. You want chances, you want high-danger chances, and they are going to go in eventually. We have too much skill in the room, history dictates that for us.
"Defensively, I think we’ve been in and out. We are still looking for that 60-minute effort. Some of that directly corelates to our puck management. I like where our game is, but puck management has become an issue for us the last few games, where we’ve paid the price for mistakes because we haven’t been able to outscore them. That’s where we are at recently. Earlier in the year we were able to outscore them. That’s going to be the challenge.”
The difference is in goals against. When Vegas gives the puck away eight times or more in a game, the team’s goals-against average is 2.75, which ranks 10th in the NHL. When the Golden Knights are stingier with the giveaways and keep them under eight per game, the goals-against drops to 2.27, which is second in the league.
After opening the regular season 11-0-1 the Vegas Golden Knights have cooled off to a 2-4-1 pace. The team remains atop the Pacific Division and Western Conference with 28 points.
“We are getting a lot of scoring chances; we have to bury them," said veteran winger William Carrier. "It looks worse than it is, right, because you look up at the score. But we have had a lot of chances to bury those. We have to find a way to win games.”
Wednesday the Golden Knights face the Dallas Stars. Dallas is three points behind Vegas in the standings and the teams met in last spring's Western Conference Final.
“You can’t forget that. A lot of guys are coming back from injuries, right, so it does take a little bit of time to get used to it,” said Carrier, in reference to Vegas having its full lineup for just one game so far this season. “It’s going to be a big game and the last time we were here it was big. I think their fans are not a big fan of us, so it’s going to be an interesting game. It should be a good game. It’s two good teams going at it. It’s a late game too, so I think both teams are going to be ready. Pete (Dallas coach Pete DeBoer) on the other side makes it more emotional for the boys. You want to play well against him and I’m sure he wants to win too. It’s going to be one of those playoff games mid-season.
Cassidy welcomed the opportunity for his team to practice during a road trip which has been busy between games and travel.
“We just wanted to get the guys moving again," he said after Tuesday's session. "We hadn’t practiced in a while, so there are always things you can work on. The way the schedule has been, it was more about getting the heart rate up, the pace up, and get your touches in. And, then some battling below the goal line. I thought in Pittsburgh, we didn’t close quick enough on a lot of plays down low, so just a reminder on what are responsibilities are. Back to work in that area.”
