3 takeaways: Golden Knights allow 4 straight goals in loss — PHOTOS
The Golden Knights couldn’t have asked for a better start, scoring twice within the first 10 minutes.
But one long-range goal from the Nashville Predators flipped the script, and the Knights couldn’t stop the bleeding in a 4-2 loss Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena.
The Knights surrendered four consecutive goals after jumping to a 2-0 lead on goals from captain Mark Stone and defenseman Ben Hutton.
A point shot from Nashville defenseman Nick Perbix at 11:20 got Nashville on the board, and the Knights didn’t have a stop.
Predators winger Steven Stamkos tied the score with a power-play goal at 15:37, and left wing Reid Schaefer scored 44 seconds later.
“It kind of feels how it’s going for us,” Knights center Tomas Hertl said. “We have to find a way to stop the bleeding.”
Goaltender Akira Schmid made his first start since Dec. 20 and finished with 15 saves, but the Knights (17-10-11) lost their third straight game and have dropped six of their past seven.
After starting their four-game homestand with a 7-2 win over the San Jose Sharks, the Knights came out of the Christmas break with three straight losses and were outscored 14-9. They’ve allowed 27 goals in the past seven games.
“I got to be careful with the guys,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I think everyone in our room cares about keeping the puck out of the net. That’s the thing that’s not going our way right now.”
The Knights flipped the script from their start Monday against the Minnesota Wild when they allowed five goals in less than two periods.
Stone scored a tap-in on the power play at 5:35, and Hutton tipped a Hertl point shot at 9:06.
But Perbix, who looked to be offside, let a shot go at 11:20 to erase all momentum.
“It seems how the bounces are going lately, but that’s the game of hockey,” forward Brandon Saad said. “We just got to reset and get back to our game.”
Long-range shots have been an issue. Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber beat goaltender Carter Hart with a point shot Monday that was through a minimal screen.
“That’s got to stop,” Cassidy said. “You can evaluate that any way you want. Is it the goalie not fighting in front of the puck? Are we not getting into shooting lanes? Are we not boxing out? There’s usually a product of those things. That’s what’s happening.”
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
1. McNabb injured; Kolesar punished
The Knights were short-handed for the second half of the game when Brayden McNabb suffered an upper-body injury in the second period and didn’t return.
McNabb collided with Nashville forward Michael Bunting and was slow to get up. Cassidy said the officials missed a “blatant” interference call on Bunting.
After the ensuing faceoff, Knights forward Keegan Kolesar went after Bunting near the Nashville bench. Cassidy thought the Predators’ bench contributed to the scrum, which should have been a Nashville penalty.
Instead, Kolesar got two minutes for cross-checking, two more for roughing and a 10-minute misconduct.
Bunting scored near the end of the double-minor at 11:52 to stretch the lead to 4-2.
“I think they blew that call, to be perfectly honest,” Cassidy said.
There was no update on McNabb after the game. The 34-year-old has played in 297 consecutive games dating to March 2022.
2. Stamkos’ milestone
Stamkos became the third active player to reach 600 career goals with his one-time blast from the left circle in the first period.
He joins Sidney Crosby and all-time goals leader Alex Ovechkin as the only ones currently with that many goals.
The Nashville bench hopped over the boards to congratulate the 35-year-old in his 1,203rd game.
The Predators (18-17-4) won for the 10th time in 14 games, and Stamkos has led the charge with 12 goals in that stretch.
3. Eichel traveling
Knights leading scorer Jack Eichel missed his seventh straight game with a lower-body injury. He was a full participant in practice Tuesday and was a game-time decision. He has not played since Dec. 13.
Cassidy said Eichel will travel on the Knights’ three-game road trip, but is unsure if he will play Friday against the St. Louis Blues.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
