Coming into Friday’s game against the Ducks, the Golden Knights had been struggling to find the back of the net with just eight goals in their previous four contests. After a game on Thursday against the Boston Bruins, head coach Pete DeBoer said his players needed to do more in order to improve offensively.
“I think there’s always solutions and things you can do better, and I do think it’s execution,” DeBoer said when asked about his team’s lack of scoring. “They get a guy (Craig Smith) tonight that scores three that had scored three the whole year up until now. We’ve got some guys in extended slumps. When you’ve got Pacioretty and Stone out of the lineup, you can’t have multiple guys going double digit games without chipping in a goal. That’s the difference in a game like that.”
It isn’t often that DeBoer is critical of his players to the media, but his callout seemed to work as the Golden Knights responded a night later with five goals against the Ducks in what turned out to be a 5-4 victory. Leading the way was Nicolas Roy who scored two on the evening, while Ben Hutton, Jonathan Marchessault and Michael Amadio were also able to find the back of the net.
With the win, the Golden Knights have reclaimed third place in the Pacific Division, sending the Edmonton Oilers back into a wild card spot. The Golden Knights’ offensive output Friday against the Ducks could be what the team needs to get them going, as they have been wildly inconsistent as of late as they continue to deal with a multitude of injuries.
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