The Vegas Golden Knights arrived in St. Louis trying to steady themselves. Instead, they walked out with the same scoreline they had in their previous game and a fresh batch of problems.
Dylan Holloway scored twice, the Blues kept answering every Vegas push, and St. Louis rolled past the Golden Knights 6-2 at Enterprise Center on Thursday night. It was the second straight 6-2 loss for Vegas, which had also been beaten by Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
For a team that opened the season looking organized and in control, the last two outings have looked nothing like that. The Golden Knights have given up 12 goals across those games, and the issues are coming in familiar forms: turnovers, shaky defensive-zone coverage and a failure to hold momentum once they get it.
Jack Eichel said the answer has to come from inside the room.
“I think it's a good opportunity for us all to look in the mirror and know we have to be better as a group,” Jack Eichel said. “I don't want to say concerning, because obviously we know we have it in this room, but you don't want to give up that many goals in back-to-back games.”
Vegas did show some fight. Brett Howden and Eichel scored, and each time the Golden Knights cut the deficit to one goal, they had a chance to change the feel of the night. They never did.
St. Louis jumped out quickly with first-period goals from Pavel Buchnevich and Jake Barron.
Howden pulled Vegas within 2-1 at 5:38 of the second period, but Mason McTavish answered less than three minutes later. The Blues kept their edge from there and never let the Golden Knights fully settle in.
The turning point came in the third period, when Vegas again found a way back to within one. Eichel scored at 4:08 to make it 3-2.
But Jimmy Snuggerud answered at 8:21, Holloway scored 2:08 after that, and the game slipped away for good. Holloway added his second goal at 16:05, part of a three-goal final period for St.
Louis.
Coach Ryan Craig said the Golden Knights are drifting away from the style that fueled their strong start.
“When you have a chance to close, we want you to go,” Craig said. “The four other guys are reading off you. ...
Through the first ten games we had done a real good job and know what that feels like. We've gotten away from it a little bit here now.”
After the game, Brayden McNabb echoed that message.
“They got to their game right away and we didn't,” McNabb said. “It's humbling the last couple games, so we got to get better.”
The numbers back up the concern. Vegas had allowed only 24 goals through its first 10 games, then surrendered 12 in these two losses.
St. Louis scored twice on the power play, and the Blues outshot the Golden Knights 31-29.
Vegas did finish with a physical edge, landing 36 hits to St. Louis’ 13, but that wasn’t enough to cover up the breakdowns.
Craig said he expects a quick answer from his team.
“We're not pleased with this. Expect a response,” Craig said. “When we push, we're a good team.”
One bright spot came from Alexander Holtz, who made his season debut and picked up an assist on Howden’s second-period goal. Craig said Holtz brought energy and attacked the middle of the ice, which stood out on a night when Vegas struggled to establish much of anything in front of Blues goaltender Joel Hofer, who made 27 saves.
“I thought Holtzy had some jump,” Craig said. “Attacked the interior of the ice, went right in there with Carly and Howie and did a good job. One of our better players tonight.”
The Golden Knights now head to Columbus, where they face the Blue Jackets on Saturday at Nationwide Arena at 4 p.m. PT. Vegas is trying to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season after starting 8-2-0, and the fixes are obvious: cleaner puck management, better defensive-zone structure and a return to the five-man connected play that defined the opening stretch.
“We're not pleased with this. Expect a response,” Craig said.
“We're gonna get a lot of teams' best games on each and every night because of what these guys have accomplished here last season. So we have to be ready for that push.”
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