Work boots, not excuses
The Golden Knights have heard the echoes of Ottawa long enough. After a 7-1 loss Sunday, Vegas gets a fast chance to reset Tuesday night against the Montréal Canadiens at Bell Centre.
Mark Stone didn’t dress it up at practice. “It’s more just work ethic, compete, win more battles,” he said. “For whatever reason, we didn’t have the fire.”
Still, Stone has done his part. He’s carrying a franchise-high 14-game point streak, with 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in that span. Even so, he made it clear the fix isn’t tactical. Instead, it’s effort, urgency, and edge.
Win the first 10 minutes
Bruce Cassidy’s message was even simpler: start on time, and stay on it.
“We still have to start on time,” Cassidy said. That issue has followed Vegas through this road trip. So the focus is basics, not reinvention. That means tighter checking in the defensive zone, cleaner puck management, and more competitiveness on pucks.
“Our goal is to win the first 10 minutes,” Cassidy said. “We haven’t done a lot of that.”
Don’t feed Suzuki and Caufield
Montréal has speed, and it has finish. Because of that, sloppy decisions get punished fast. Stone pointed straight at the danger.
“If you turn the puck over against Suzuki, Caufield, those types of players, they’re going to ram it right down your throat,” he said. So, the antidote is simple: play smarter. Also, get pucks behind them. Then make them go 200 feet.
The Canadiens enter 28-17-7, while Vegas is 25-14-12. Recently, Cole Caufield has led Montréal with 10 points over its last five games. Meanwhile, Nick Suzuki has seven assists in that span. For Vegas, Jack Eichel has six points in the last five. In addition, Pavel Dorofeyev has three goals over that stretch.
Puck drop tonight, Tuesday, Jan. 27, is set for 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT).
Pacific is a knife fight
The standings won’t let Vegas dwell on Ottawa for long. Only seven points separate the top six teams in the Pacific, with the Golden Knights (62) sitting level with Edmonton at the top, and Anaheim (59) right behind. Los Angeles and Seattle are both at 55, with San Jose also on 55, which means a good week can change the whole picture fast. Meanwhile, Calgary (48) and Vancouver (39) are bringing up the rear, but for everyone else, there’s no room for soft starts or sloppy nights.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
