The Vegas Golden Knights (28-19-14) suffered their third consecutive regulation defeat and second this month in a 3-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres (36-19-6) Tuesday night at KeyBank Center.
For the third game in a row, the Golden Knights found themselves in a three-goal hole. Though Vegas made it a one-goal game in the middle frame, a scoreless third period prevented them from resetting the score and coming away with any points.
After sustaining an injury Sunday against Pittsburgh, captain Mark Stone was not in the lineup against Buffalo.
Arguably, the high point of the night for the Golden Knights was when the Sabres organization honored the members of Team USA on their gold medal, including former Sabres captain Jack Eichel as well as defenseman Noah Hanifin.
The game got off to a familiar start, with the Golden Knights giving up multiple goals before netting one of their own.
Las Vegas native Jason Zucker opened the scoring just over four minutes into the contest on an unlucky bounce when a centering pass deflected off Eichel’s skate and right to Zucker in front of an empty cage.
Braeden Bowman had two glorious chances but was unable to bury either, including when he hit the post on a 2-on-1. However, Akira Schmid turned aside the other 10 Sabres shots to keep it a one-goal game after 20 minutes.
That changed quickly in the second period, however, as Buffalo doubled its lead just 46 seconds in on a floated wrister from downtown by Owen Power. The shot hit Rasmus Andersson on its way past Schmid, giving him no chance on either of the first two goals.
Schmid was unable to shut down Olympian Tage Thompson, however, whose lethal shot made it a three-goal game at 5:44.
For the third time in three games, the Golden Knights trailed by three goals in the second period.
As soon as Vegas went down by three, the team turned things around. In fact, it took just 66 seconds for the Golden Knights to get on the board.
The goal came on a fantastic individual effort by Ivan Barbashev, who tried a stuff attempt and then scored on a backhand wraparound goal to cut the deficit to two.
Less than two minutes later, Pavel Dorofeyev got a breakaway and did what Pavel “Scorofeyev” does best. His 29th of the season made it a 3-2 contest with 31:33 remaining in the game.
The Golden Knights had several chances in the third period but weren’t able to finish, including when Bowman hit the crossbar in the final minute of regulation. Vegas recorded just six shots in the final frame, ultimately falling 3-2.
The Golden Knights’ narrow lead in the Pacific Division standings is almost negligible after three straight losses. They have just a one-point edge over the second-place Ducks, who have a game in hand. Vegas has a two-point lead with a game in hand over the Oilers, but the margin for error is narrowing.
Vegas doesn’t seem to realize it, though.
The Golden Knights have struggled with their starts all year, but to go down 3-0 in three straight games is far from ideal. Their only win since the Olympic break came against Los Angeles with five key players out of the lineup. Vegas has lost 10 of its last 14 games.
The fact that the Golden Knights only seem to discover their game once they fall into a significant hole is becoming a redundant narrative. In fact, Vegas has trailed 2-0 in each of its last seven regulation losses.
Also, the Golden Knights have struggled against playoff teams, which is not exactly a good sign for a team looking to contend. The Golden Knights’ inconsistency issues are alive and well at the worst possible time.
In Buffalo, the defensive lapses throughout the contest were costly, and Schmid had to bail out his teammates on a number of turnovers throughout the game. He was especially sharp in the second period despite allowing two goals on 12 shots. He finished the game with 25 saves on 28 shots for an .893 save percentage.
Schmid had no chance on the Sabres’ first two goals, though, and the third came off the stick of one of the better shooters in the league.
Zucker’s goal and Power’s goal both came immediately after Vegas lost a faceoff in the defensive end, and the puck was in the back of the net within seconds on both occasions. Zucker was left all alone for the backdoor tap-in, and Andersson’s indecision about whether to get in the shooting lane led to Power’s deflection tally.
The Golden Knights were not sharp early. Teams can’t expect to chase the game night after night in the National Hockey League and come away with points. Somehow, the Golden Knights have to address the elephant in the room and rectify the problem.
Vegas has a quick turnaround, with another game tomorrow night in Detroit against a tough Red Wings squad. The schedule doesn’t get any easier, as the next three opponents — Minnesota, Edmonton and Dallas — are all playoff teams as well.
But the Golden Knights’ fate largely depends on the status of Stone, who remains day-to-day.
Photo courtesy of the Golden Knights