Class in session as Golden Knights return from bye week

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Golden Knights, like so many surprised students throughout the years, returned from break to find a pile of homework waiting for them.

The Knights weren’t leisurely put through the motions in their first practice back from their bye week. Instead, they were put to the test Thursday at PNC Arena.

The longer-than-usual practice featured plenty of whiteboard time, as coach Peter DeBoer continued to impart his systems and philosophies to his rested pupils. There was a lot of instructing, learning and questioning as the Knights make changes on the fly to rescue a season that has been a disappointment.

There’s urgency to make them stick quickly. The team knows it already has dug a hole, and it’s not eager to fall further behind during its four-game trip, which starts Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“It’s a sprint to the finish,” defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “We’re all-in here until the end of the year because teams are around us (in the standings). They’re playing, they’re winning, and you got to keep pace, and you got to try and separate yourself by stringing together some games.”

Thursday’s practice emphasized several things the Knights want to clean up in their final 30 games.

Breakouts were rehearsed. Special teams were harped on. And the team even worked on how each skater should position himself in the defensive zone to create the structure DeBoer is seeking.

The coach laid the foundation for how he wants the Knights to play in his brief pre-bye practice time, but he wasn’t sure how much the players retained after being dismissed following a Jan. 21 game against the Boston Bruins. So it was back to the whiteboard Thursday.

The team gathered to hear DeBoer or new assistant Steve Spott speak there seven times during practice.

“We actually did a lot of teaching prior to the break, but you give these guys a day off and they start to forget,” DeBoer said. “You give them 10 days off, and I’m not sure they remember who I am. So we had to start over again.”

DeBoer admitted there is a “fine line” he’s trying to walk regarding system changes. He wants to make tweaks he thinks will help while also not overloading his players with information.

That balance is even more complicated because of the Knights’ predicament. Their time for growing pains is long past. The team is five points out of first in the Pacific Division and clinging to a wild-card spot entering play Thursday.

The Winnipeg Jets, Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild are on the Knights’ heels. Any slip-up while reforging their identity could cause a fall from the playoff picture.

But DeBoer also knows he wasn’t hired to keep things static.

“The reality is, through 50 games, our game isn’t good enough,” DeBoer said. “We’re a bubble team. So we’ve got to change some things and add some things.”

Thursday was a step toward that, and the Knights will continue learning under DeBoer’s direction. Their hope is it leads to more victories as they aim for their third playoff berth in three seasons.

It won’t be easy. The remaining schedule is the ninth hardest in the NHL by points percentage, according to NHL.com.

“The back half of the year, last 30 games, it goes by quick,” center Paul Stastny said. “You can’t lay an egg on any game. Every team you’re playing is basically on the bubble or playing for a playoff spot, whether it’s in one conference or the other. And if they’re not, then you’re playing teams that have nothing to lose, and they’re sometimes harder to play, too.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.