Golden Knights face Calgary for first time to open 6-game road trip

CALGARY, Alberta — As the Golden Knights’ season resumes Tuesday, the last thing the organization wants are distractions.

Things are going to be tough enough as the Knights — leaders of the Pacific Division and Western Conference (32-12-4, 68 points) — begin a six-game road trip starting at the Scotiabank Saddledome against the Calgary Flames. And there’s probably nothing that can be more distracting to a team than trade talk.

Yes, the NHL’s Feb. 26 trade deadline is looming larger with each passing day. And there has been much speculation as to what the Knights will do. General manager George McPhee has said publicly that he is going to wait and see how things go before determining whether or not to buy, sell or stand pat.

Assistant general manager Kelly McCrimmon, who was with the team Monday, said it’s too early for conjecture about possible moves.

“Our discussions in respect to the trade deadline won’t be impacted or measured by this trip,” McCrimmon said. “I say this very honestly, one of the things about this team all year is we only worry about what is in front of us.

“What happens with 31 teams is every team will have had full meetings the last couple of weeks. Every team will have assessed the landscape, their own needs and own set of circumstances and go from there. You work your way at it until you get to the finish line Feb. 26.

“Every team is similar in that they’ll be aware of what’s going on and what may be there for their own team. I don’t think that something that’s unique to our team. I think that’s something across the NHL.”

The Knights’ hockey operations staff had their meetings during the team’s bye week earlier this month and whatever assessments were made came from those get-togethers at City National Arena.

For the Knights’ players, it’s all about making sure they’re ready to play and get back to work. They can read a calendar. They know this trip will test them, both mentally and physically.

“You really don’t want to look past (Tuesday),” center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said. “(Tuesday) is a big two points. That’s where my focus is on.

“If you ask most of the guys in the locker room who we play three games from now, they wouldn’t have a clue. I think that’s why we’ve been successful. We don’t look too far ahead and we see the next game as a chance for us to do better than the game before.”

Forward Alex Tuch said preparedness and quick starts are the key for a successful trip.

“Everyone’s got to show up every night and we have to come out and jump on teams,” Tuch said. “There are a lot of really good fan bases we’re playing at and you don’t want to give the home crowd any momentum.

“What’s made us successful in the past on the road is getting that first goal.”

Coach Gerard Gallant said the Flames, who are in third place 10 points behind the Knights in the Pacific Division standings, will be looking to close the gap in what will be the first of four meetings between the teams.

“They haven’t seen us so it should be fun,” Gallant said of the Flames. “They compete and battle hard every time they play. We’re looking forward to it.”

Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.