Mark Stone smashing his stick at the end of a rough Vegas Golden Knights power play in the third period told the entire story for his team.
On Saturday, the woes for the Golden Knights followed them on the road with a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators.
In what has become a disturbing trend for the Golden Knights as of late, the first shot of the game found its way into the back of the net for the second straight game. After Jack Eichel lost the faceoff in the defensive zone, Steven Stamkos ripped a shot past Akira Schmid’s five-hole to give the Predators the lead 40 seconds in.
Special teams then proceeded to take over for the Predators in the second period. It started with Stamkos scoring his second goal of the game after the Golden Knights overcommitted on a bounced pass and left a wide open net to shoot at. Then, with Vegas on the power play, a Mitch Marner pass went awry that turned into a three-on-one, ending with Tyson Jost beating Schmid on the glove side for a 3-0 deficit.
The Golden Knights did at least try to fight back on the same power play. After allowing the shorthanded goal, the second unit was finally able to end the over 180-minute scoreless drought they endured when Shea Theodore beat Justus Annunen to get one on the board.
The good vibes would not last, however, as another Nashville power play would end with a deflection off of Ryan O’Reilly’s skate past Schmid to restore the three-goal lead.
There will not be a lot of time to reflect on this latest disappointment, as the Golden Knights will have to shake it off in a hurry against the Dallas Stars on Sunday.