Golden Knights survive tough 1st half, look to turn the corner

The first half of the Vegas Golden Knights’ season was marked by a rash of injuries to top players, an uncharacteristic losing streak, rare struggles at home, an abysmal overtime record and even some national controversy over the addition of goaltender Carter Hart.

And yet, they find themselves in a familiar position sitting atop the Pacific Division standings.

“We’re not where we want to be by any means,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “There are things we want to and need to correct, but the sky is not falling. We’ve managed to collect points while getting a look at other people in more situations because of all the injuries.”

It happened again Thursday night when the Knights (19-11-12) lost Hart to a left knee injury midway through the first period, but rallied to win from a 2-0 deficit for the second consecutive game after dropping eight of nine.

They will look to keep the momentum going when they host the St. Louis Blues (17-19-8) Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Goaltender situation cloudy

The Knights probably will have to do it without Hart, who was scheduled to undergo testing during an off day Friday. Cassidy said he would have an update Saturday morning, but indicated Akira Schmid would almost certainly get the start.

Then the Knights can worry about Sunday when they travel to San Jose for the second half of a back-to-back against the Sharks (22-18-3).

Cassidy didn’t rule out the possibility of Adin Hill returning for the first time since he left a game against Carolina on Oct. 20 with a lower-body injury, but Hill has yet to be cleared to play despite getting on the ice with his teammates this week.

“I don’t think you can accelerate (Hill’s return) because of an injury (to Hart),” Cassidy said. “I don’t think the medical team would do that, and I wouldn’t want them to. If he’s ready, great. But you can’t do it that way. There’s still 40 games left. We’ll deal with it. Pretty safe to say Akira is going to start Saturday. Who starts Sunday on a back-to-back, we’re going to have to sort through that.”

Same goes for the loss of defenseman Brayden McNabb, who is now on injured reserve more than a week after suffering an upper-body injury in a collision with Nashville’s Michael Bunting on New Year’s Eve.

Captain Mark Stone has missed time. Star center Jack Eichel has missed time. Defenseman Shea Theodore is still out. So is center William Karlsson.

‘There’s no perfect team’

Cassidy acknowledged the season has been difficult with all the challenges and top players in and out of the lineup, then said he’s proud of how the team has persevered.

“We’re playing through the injuries and everything else and still staying in the fight for first place in the division,” he said. “When things happen, how do you respond? Our guys are good that way. We want them to start better, we want them to put games away. We want certain things from them. All coaches want all of that, but there’s no perfect team out there. Our group has always been pretty good at when a guy leaves the lineup, we have to be a little better collectively.

“I think it’s built into them that we can’t sit around and worry about it, we have to play.”

It’s a mentality his players have embraced.

“We’re a veteran group,” forward Brett Howden said. “All the experience in (our locker room) goes a long way, especially when you’re going through a little adversity. We lean on each other to pull ourselves out of those situations.”

The benefit of all the adversity could come down the line. Cassidy has used several young players, including Schmid, and their experience could prove valuable if they are needed the rest of the season.

Cassidy has also got an extensive look at Mitch Marner at center instead of wing, a scenario he didn’t envision but one Marner has handled.

“My hopes for the back half is that our record is better, our play is better in certain areas and we stay a little healthier,” Cassidy said.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.