Knights look to find offense in final game of East Coast trip

The Golden Knights had four days off between games before the start of their three-game road trip.

Time change and travel to the East Coast wouldn’t be factors. There was, seemingly, plenty of time to get acclimated.

But the Knights (5-1-3) haven’t figured things out two games in. Their offense has gone cold. Shots on goal have come at a premium. Somehow, they’ve managed a point out of a possible four.

The Knights will try to salvage the trip Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Coming off a 2-1 overtime loss Sunday to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Knights have accounted for one goal in their past two games. They were shut out 3-0 against the Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Revenge on the mind

The Knights went into this trip feeling confident. They kept a talented Carolina offense in check Oct. 20 at T-Mobile Arena to the tune of a 4-1 win.

Defensively, the Knights played well enough during the Sunshine State back-to-back to have chances to win both games.

Offense has been hard to come by, though.

“It’s early to panic, so we’re not sending that message,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Offensively, I’ve always felt there’s three prongs — your power play, which was humming for us, and right now we’re in a lull, the rush game … and there’s the o-zone game. We have to get contributions there, and I think that’s lacking a little right now.”

Goaltender Carl Lindbom made 26 saves in his NHL debut Sunday and was the reason the Knights earned a point for the eighth time in nine games.

Akira Schmid is expected to make his fourth start this season Tuesday. The 25-year-old did all he could against the defending Stanley Cup champions Saturday in a 23-save effort, keeping it a 1-0 game after two periods.

Schmid made 22 saves in relief of goalie Adin Hill last week against Carolina.

“We’ve got to find our game back,” defenseman Jeremy Lauzon said. “The last time we played Carolina we were really solid. We were simple. I think that’s what we need to come back to.”

Scouting Carolina

Finding a way to defeat what’s considered the NHL’s best team through the first three weeks would be a good start.

Carolina (6-2-0) returns home after going 4-2 during a season-long, six-game trip.

The Hurricanes couldn’t hold a two-goal lead Saturday in a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. Undrafted goalie Brandon Bussi made 31 saves but lost for the first time in three starts.

Carolina is led by its top line duo of right wing Seth Jarvis with seven goals and 11 points, and center Sebastian Aho with 10 points.

Left wing Nikolaj Ehlers has gotten off to a slow start with three assists through eight games. He signed a six-year, $51 million contract with the Hurricanes on July 3.

Carolina is tied with the New York Islanders for the second-highest scoring offense in the league at 3.75 goals per game.

The Hurricanes and Knights both went 0-for-4 on the power play in their last meeting. The Knights have killed their past 15 penalties.

“It’s nice for our PK,” center William Karlsson said. “All the guys on the killing did a tremendous job, and it was a boost going forward.”

Cassidy looked at the silver lining after Sunday. A win Tuesday would give the Knights three of six points on the trip before the start of a six-game homestand.

“(This trip) is like the old days with Anaheim, L.A., San Jose when they were on top of the Pacific. It’s not easy. You’ve got to be ready to play every night,” Cassidy said. “The second half of our game was much better than (Saturday) and the first half (Sunday), so if we can build on that, get a day’s rest in between and get back to work against another good team, that’ll be a good thing for us to build off.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.