Devils top players shine, but Knights blame selves for loss

There won’t be many times this year where Mark Stone is on the wrong end of a highlight.

The Vegas Golden Knights captain appeared to be in the right place defensively. New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes made the better play, going between Stone’s legs and finishing in close to give New Jersey a second-period lead.

That was the second of four goals by the Devils’ top line. The Knights had no answer for Hughes or winger Arseny Gritsyuk in the 5-2 loss at T-Mobile Arena on Friday.

Each scored twice and finished with a plus-4.

Those numbers will never make a team feel good defensively. The Knights put the blame on themselves.

When asked what they were doing effectively, forward Ivan Barbashev said, “Not much.”

“I think we had to play harder against them,” Barbashev said. “We just gave them too much space, and that’s what they did.”

Defenseman Shea Theodore was posed with the same question. He put the blame on the Knights being unable to hold on to the puck.

The Knights were credited with 15 giveaways compared to New Jersey’s eight.

“We didn’t manage it,” Theodore said. “We didn’t have a forecheck. We weren’t hard enough.”

It’s not the first time the Knights have hurt themselves this season when hanging on to the puck. Different times, coach Ryan Craig pointed to the Knights “not helping ourselves.”

He went back to that saying again Friday, adding that the Devils are a good team and this kind of challenge was expected.

But the Knights did, in fact, not do themselves any favors.

“The first two (goals) are turnovers,” Craig said. “Three and four are magnified with the checking below the hash marks in those situations, but it’s away from the puck and that support level and the layers that we’ve got to be better at.”

The Knights were in a good position late in the first period. They withstood giving up the first goal on the first shot of the game with goals from Stone and Barbashev 1:30 apart to take a 2-1 lead.

Gritsyuk capitalized on one of those Knights turnovers. Center William Karlsson gave it away near the front of the net, and Gritsyuk’s quick release beat goaltender Adin Hill.

Puck management magnified in the second period. Hill did all he could, including a barrel roll-like save to keep it a 3-2 game.

But the rough game for the Knights’ top line continued. Stone’s turnover allowed Gritsyuk to skate down the lane and follow his own rebound to make it 4-2.

“I think what we’ve gotten away from a little bit was that overall team game,” Craig said. “The layers, the support, I thought we let some frustration creep into that. When you do that, it affects your overall game.”

The Knights ended October going 9-5-1 and are on a stretch of four losses in their last five games. They’ll try to get back on course starting Monday for a four-game road trip on the east coast.

It won’t be an easy stretch. They’ll play a back-to-back in Boston and Pittsburgh, followed by a motivated Detroit team Thursday and Buffalo on Sunday.

The Knights will practice Saturday before traveling. Perhaps as a wake-up call after a rough showing on Friday.

“These are thing we’ll look at, things we’ll continue to push forward here as we’re 15 games in,” Craig said.

Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.