The Vegas Golden Knights will be itching to get their most recent disappointment out of their system.
On Thursday, the Golden Knights complete their four-game homestand with a battle against the Utah Mammoth.
Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, NV
Date: Thursday, March 19
Time: 7:00 PST
How To Watch: ESPN+, HULU
Radio: 1340 AM, 94.7 FM
A marvelous performance from goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen lead to the Golden Knights being skunked in a 2-0 shutout loss to the Buffalo Sabres last time around. Low-event hockey like the game Vegas was forced to play on Tuesday will not fly at any point for the remainder of the season and beyond, and the pressure is once again on the Golden Knights to get back on track.
Here is how the Golden Knights will be able to do that against a potential new rival.
Playoff preview
This game poses at least some level of significance to the Golden Knights, as they could be looking at who they will face off against in a month’s time.
Barring anything bizarre happening in the Central Division, the Mammoth look poised to grab one of the Western Conference’s wild card spots. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are in the thick of the Pacific Division title race, with the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers providing challenges all season. With the potential for a new rivalry to grow quickly due to proximity, the Golden Knights taking the season series would be a nice surge of momentum if the two sides reach a best-of-seven scenario in April.
Cool Hand Logan
The two games so far this season against the Mammoth are perfect examples of how to win and lose for the Golden Knights.
On Nov. 24, the Mammoth blew the doors off the Golden Knights in large part to Logan Cooley’s four-goal performance. The Golden Knights have not often succumbed to stars taking over games like they did against Cooley, and he will certainly be a focus throughout the game. If Vegas wants to pull out the victory, they cannot allow any individual performance to dictate the outcome.
Salt and pepper
On the other side of the coin, the Golden Knights do have a formula that has proven to work.
The Nov. 20 matchup against the Mammoth saw the Golden Knights put up 33 shots, including two goals from Jack Eichel. With Vegas looking to get a shutout behind them, Eichel and other offensive engines such as Pavel Dorofeyev and Mitch Marner will want to find the back of the net early and often. The best way to do that is to put pucks on the net any way they can, so expect an offensive plan that revolves heavily around getting high-percentage looks.