Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 | 2 a.m.
The Golden Knights’ first line is the best in the NHL. The trio of Ivan Barbashev, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone combined for 23 points in just four games. Eichel and Stone have eight points each, which leads the NHL.
However, the Golden Knights’ offense needs more support beyond their first line. The three other lines have combined for just 14 points, and a handful of those points have come out of power play units.
In Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals, the Golden Knights’ first of the year, just two players that weren’t on the first line recorded points. Both those players, Victor Olofsson and Tomáš Hertl, earned their points in the power play unit with Stone.
“They’ve been our best line offensively, and they should be. They’re the drives, and they got tired early,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said on the first line. “That’s where we needed another line to give us some juice or play from the back end to get us going offensively.”
The second line of Hertl, Alexander Holtz and Pavel Dorofeyev has struggled early in the season. The line has yet to produce a point, with all three players getting on the scoresheet via the power play or receiving the puck from a defenseman or a player from another line.
After Sunday’s 3-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks, Hertl said that his line “kind of cruises around” and believes that they can “do better.”
“We’ve done nothing wrong, but we kind of cruise around,” Hertl said after the game against the Ducks. “I’m happy I scored, and hopefully, we can turn it around and help the team more.”
The Golden Knights need depth going forward after possibly losing one of their top forwards. Olofsson left the game in the third period and did not return, and Cassidy did not have an update on his status.
If Olofsson were put on injured reserve, Vegas would be without two significant contributors on the power play: Olofsson and William Karlsson. Karlsson has yet to play a game this season, and Cassidy said he didn’t expect him to make the three-game road trip.
“He (Olofsson) was just trying to pursue a puck and get there first. I don’t have an update on him. It didn’t look good when he left the ice,” Cassidy said. “Hopefully it’s not too severe.”
Needing a boost from the rest of the offense, the rest of the road trip becomes more challenging for the Golden Knights. They’re at Tampa on Thursday, which is one of four still undefeated teams left and defeated the Vancouver Canucks, 4-1, on Tuesday.
Saturday, Vegas faces the defending the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers, who’ve responded with back-to-back wins over the Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets after back-to-back losses.
“You can’t dig yourself a hole during these stretches on the road,” Cassidy said.