Golden Knights look for some good news
Vegas begins four-game road trip in Toronto on Tuesday hoping for better ‘puck luck’
Max Pacioretty was swarmed by the media on Monday when his Vegas Golden Knights practised at the MasterCard Centre ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Maple Leafs.
But the dozen or so media members grilling him will pale in comparison to what the former Habs captain will face in Montreal on Saturday when the Knights face the Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
The big question will be whether he’ll be able to play or not; he has missed the last four games but practised in full on Monday.
“I felt good today,” said Pacioretty, traded to Vegas prior to training camp. “Talk to the trainers, talk to the coaches and see where it goes.
“Obviously, it’s a good sign I was practising out there with contact.”
The Golden Knights begin a four-game road trip Tuesday. They were the feel-good story of the 2017-18 season, an expansion team making it to the Stanley Cup final in its first year.
However, things haven’t gone as well so far this season. Where last year everything seemed to go right, this year plenty has gone wrong.
Injuries, especially to Pacioretty and free-agent singing Paul Stastny, who has been out since Oct. 8, robbed Vegas of two-thirds of its second line. And defenceman Nate Schmidt remains out, having been suspended 20 games for violating the NHL’s substance abuse policy.
Then there’s simply bad puck luck. Fourth-liner Ryan Reaves has more goals (four) than the likes of centre William Karlsson (three), who had 41 last year, and Erik Huala (two), who had 29 last year. It’s good for Reaves, of course, but not so good for the team that he’s second in goals behind Jonathan Marchessault.
“We’ve played better than our (6-7-1) record,” said Vegas coach Gerard Gallant.
“We had a couple of bad games. But everything seems to be tougher than it was last year.
Last year, we got those breaks. We got those (lucky) goals. The puck luck was going our way.
“We’ve got to push through it. We’ve got to find a way to do a little bit better. But we’re not getting the same breaks. We’re getting lots of shots, we’re getting lots of chances. It’s not going into the net like it was last year.”
Certainly as a team that went to the Stanley Cup final, the Golden Knights are not surprising anyone as they once might have.
“Last year, it started out magic, and it kept going,” said Gallant. “When an expansion team comes in, you don’t think they’re going to be that good. But after 15 games last year, everybody knew we were a pretty good team. We went to the final. They know … they’re going to have to play real well to beat us.
“It doesn’t change what we do, but I think other teams look at us as a good hockey team.”
Pacioretty was traded to Vegas for forward Tomas Tatar, forward prospect Nick Suzuki and a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL draft. Vegas immediately signed the 29-year-old Pacioretty to a four-year, US$28-million contract extension.
“The media is much different,” Pacioretty said of life in Vegas. “Maybe some of the questions, it’s a bit more realistic. You don’t have to answer questions every day about how bad you are. It’s completely different in that sense.
“At the same time the expectation on any team is Stanley Cup or bust, whether you answer questions about it or not. Expectations in a Canadian market, you have to answer questions about those expectations every day. That’s the biggest difference.”
When the Knights get to Montreal — they play in Ottawa on Thursday — Pacioretty will face questions with a bit of an ironic tone. The Habs are doing better than the Knights, as Montreal seems to be the surprising team of the first month-and-a-bit of the season.
“I don’t think it’s surprising,” said Pacioretty. “In Montreal, you always had a bounce back year after a bad year. A lot of guys have stepped up.
“And when there’s less pressure, less expectations … we saw with Vegas last year, no expectations. We saw what they did. It’s easier to skate down the ice when you don’t have it on your shoulders.”