LAS VEGAS — Well, that didn’t work out too well.
Bruce Cassidy may have gone to the well a little too many times Thursday with Adin Hill as the starting goaltender. Hill, starting his sixth straight game, allowed three goals on three shots and trailed with 8:12 remaining against Utah at T-Mobile Arena.
It was a disastrous night for the Golden Knights, who were trying to keep up with Anaheim and Edmonton in the Pacific Division without actually being able to play against the Mammoths, who are competing for a playoff spot in their second season in Salt Lake City.
If the Cavaliers start on time, get some coverage in their own zone, and their goaltender makes a few early interceptions as teammates try to get a foothold, the 4-0 loss won’t be so hard to swallow.
But none of this happened. As a result, Vegas ended its critical four-game home stretch with two straight losses, and without a goal in these two losses, the offense stalled.
In fact, the last time the Cavs put the ball in an opponent’s net was in the second period against Chicago on Saturday. Counting 148 minutes and 9 seconds, no points were scored. On Thursday, there were only 28 shots on goal, but Karel Vermelka kept all of them aside.
“I’m worried it’s going to take away from the shooting opportunities,” Cassidy said. “We missed 28 shots. We need more shots.”
And you can’t blame it on injuries. The Cavaliers are healthy now and it depends on everyone’s efforts. If you’re Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, and Mitch Marner, you’re supposed to put the puck in the net. If you’re Shea Theodore, Rasmus Andersson, Noah Hanifin and Kaedan Korczak, you’re supposed to stop the other team from scoring.
“You give up three in a row, and that puts you in a tough spot,” Hanifin said. “We had a lot of time to get back into the game, two and a half quarters.”
If the Cavaliers are counting on Nick Dodd, Cole Smith, Brayden Bowman, Keegan Kolesar and Colton Sissons to bail them out, they’re in big trouble. While they may still make the playoffs, how confident are you that this team can do well in the Stanley Cup?
If you stop paying attention to the NHL standings, you’ll see that the Cavaliers are still 31-23-14 overall this season, and they should thank their lucky stars that they’re in the Western Conference instead of the Eastern Conference. Now 76 points isn’t enough to qualify for another league’s playoffs.
The closest Vegas came to scoring on Thursday came near the midway point of the second period when Jeremy Lauzon’s shot hit the left post. And it wasn’t even a shot. They hit the post twice more in the third period. This tends to happen when you’re struggling to score. Goals you think are going to be scored will be left out.
Lauzon tried to get his team started late in the second period, squaring off against Utah’s Lawson Krause and winning a clear decision. But it would be Vegas’ only win of the night.
Did Cassidy roll the dice too many times starting Hill? Is he lulled into a false sense of security that his team played so well against Buffalo on Tuesday in a 2-0 loss that he doesn’t need to change things up, like maybe bring Riley Smith back?
Yes, Vermelka played well. Like what Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen did for the Sabers on Tuesday? Not exactly. But it was enough to frustrate the Cavaliers, like Ivan Barbashev slamming his stick onto the ice in disgust after a missed opportunity in the second period.
So, as the games begin to wind down — with 14 remaining — the question is: Can this team find enough overall to finish with real momentum, secure its spot in the playoffs, and get into the playoffs playing the kind of hockey needed to become a serious Cup contender?
It begins Saturday in Nashville.
“We have to go back the same way we came. We don’t have much time left,” Hanifin said. “We’ve got to start winning some games. We’ve got to find a way to get some points.”
