The Vegas Golden Knights are in a giant funk right now, as Tuesday’s 7-3 defeat to the Winnipeg Jets marked their fifth-straight loss.
With the ugly stretch of play, the Golden Knights have been passed by the Edmonton Oilers for third place in the Pacific Division and are just barely holding onto a wild card spot. Seeing where they are through 62 games is quite shocking as most expected them to run away with the division, and as a result heavy pressure is pouring down on both the team and head coach Pete DeBoer.
“We’ve got eight or nine regulars out of the lineup, that would probably have something to do with it,” DeBoer said when asked what the main factor has been in this five-game skid. “We’ve had winnable games. It feels like we have to play a perfect game right now. Our goalies have to be dead on, our special teams have to be dead on, our five-on-five has to be dead on for us to win. That’s a big ask for a group, and I thought most nights on this trip we had most of those things going. Just not enough to win.”
The goaltending comment made by DeBoer appears to be a direct shot at Laurent Brossoit, who has struggled since filling in for the injured Robin Lehner and allowed four goals on 13 shots versus the Jets before being pulled in the second period. With the uncertainty of Lehner’s injury paired with Brossoit’s struggles, it wouldn’t be surprising to see general manager Kelly McCrimmon trade for a goalie ahead of the deadline.
Despite the tense times right now, there is still hope for this team to secure a postseason berth. Even with their long list of injuries, they still have several top end players in the lineup and are capable of playing at a much higher level than they are right now. If they aren’t able to get things turned around, it could be the end of DeBoer’s run as the Golden Knights head coach.
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