The Vegas Golden Knights’ road trip opened with a rough night in St. Louis, as they fell 6-2 to the Blues on Thursday at Enterprise Center.
Vegas got on the board twice, but every time it seemed ready to build something, St. Louis answered back and kept control of the game.
The Blues struck first midway through the opening period when Pavel Buchnevich finished off a rebound chance. Then, with under six minutes left in the frame, Justin Barron jumped on a loose puck from the right side to make it 2-0.
The Golden Knights finally broke through in the second period. Brett Howden snapped home his fifth goal of the season off a rebound, with Noah Hanifin and Alexander Holtz picking up the assists, trimming the deficit to one.
But the response from St. Louis came fast.
Less than three minutes later, Mason McTavish restored the Blues’ two-goal cushion.
Vegas found another reply early in the third. Five minutes into the final period, Ivan Barbashev and Brayden McNabb set up Jack Eichel, who raced into the offensive end and sent the puck across the crease, leading to a banked-in goal off the skate of a Blues defender.
That pulled the Golden Knights back within one, but the push didn’t last. Five minutes later, Jimmy Snuggerud scored to make it 4-2, and Dylan Holloway added two more goals down the stretch to close out the 6-2 final.
The Golden Knights are now 8-4-0 and will wrap up the road trip Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena at 4 p.m. PT. The game will air on Scripps Sports (The Spot-Vegas 34 in Vegas), stream on KnightTime+, and be available on the radio through X 107.9 and 105.7 Maxima.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Suddenly Have A Problem They Cant Keep Chasing
The Golden Knights latest setback looked familiar in the worst way, with a slow start leaving them chasing the game again before they ever had a chance to settle in. Vegas did manage to erase the early deficit in the first period, and Tom Hertl supplied the lone goal, but the response only got them so far in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Carter Hart did his part to keep the game within reach, stopping 18 shots, but the bigger concern is the stretch itself. Three straight losses can be shrugged off once in a while, yet the Golden Knights are starting to look like a team that is spending too much time recovering from its own mistakes instead of controlling games from the opening faceoff. [Read more 🡒]
Jack Eichel Is Playing Like A Different Star For Vegas
Jack Eichels season has looked different in all the ways that matter most to the Golden Knights. He is on pace for a career-high 41 goals and could become the first Vegas player to hit 100 points in a single season, a marker that would put his offensive run in a class all its own for the franchise. What stands out is not just the volume, but the efficiency, with his shooting percentage climbing to 18.8 percent, the best of his career.
The bigger shift has been how he is getting there. Eichel has played with more aggression and sharper shot selection, and the fit around him has helped, with Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev giving Vegas a more dangerous look whenever the top line is rolling. Even without a power-play goal this season, Eichels production has taken on the shape of a true No. 1 star, and the Knights are benefiting from the version of him that attacks more often and finishes cleaner than before. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Suddenly Have Two Problems They Can't Ignore
The Golden Knights latest skid got a little more uncomfortable Sunday night in Columbus, where a 2-1 overtime loss to the Blue Jackets left Vegas with its third straight defeat. Denton Mateychuk scored for Columbus, Tomas Hertl answered for Vegas, and the Knights again came up short in a game that exposed more than one problem, from an offense that never really found a groove to a penalty kill that left the staff with plenty to sort through.
Ryan Craig didnt sugarcoat the state of things afterward, and for a team that has built its identity on being hard to play against, the details matter here. Vegas can live with a tight loss now and then, but when the attack is sputtering and the special teams arent holding up, the margin gets thin fast, and the Knights are suddenly dealing with issues they cant afford to let linger. [Read more 🡒]