Knights look to turn page after rough end to October

Saturday would have normally been a travel day rather than a practice day, but the Vegas Golden Knights needed it.

Friday’s Nevada Day dud against the New Jersey Devils didn’t alter the team’s travel plans. It was evident that coach Ryan Craig needed to get his group on the ice after the 5-2 loss.

One day after a game that saw a lack of forechecking and turnovers galore, the Knights practiced once more before heading to the East Coast to start a four-game road trip.

Spirits were high after a 35-minute on-ice session that followed a video session that viewed everything Craig said Friday needed to be addressed.

“My comments (from Friday) on needing to manage the puck better and check better, I think showed up on the tape,” Craig said.

It was a spirited practice. Craig said the leadership group led the way in getting what they needed to accomplish.

The Knights went 9-5-1 in October. The wins were expected. They came against teams they matched up better against, Seattle, Vancouver and Los Angeles among them.

The common theme in the regulation losses was the Knights failed to stop the bleeding at certain moments — such as falling behind by three goals to Anaheim and Minnesota, or not playing up to their standard in the second half of the game against Tampa Bay or New Jersey.

“Sometimes things happen like this in a long season,” forward Marc Gatcomb said. “We know we haven’t been at our best, but we just got to stick to what was working and get back to that.”

The penalty kill took a hit, falling to a surprising 69.4 percent heading into November. The Knights killed both Devils power plays Friday, ending a streak of six straight games allowing a power-play goal.

That was the only positive to come out of the New Jersey game. The Knights had 15 giveaways, with three of them leading to Devils goals.

“Watching it back, (the game) looked like it did live,” Craig said.

One of those giveaways came from defenseman Ville Heinola on New Jersey’s first goal. Heinola struggled in his second game with the Knights. Along with his puck management, he had a rough showing against New Jersey’s forecheck.

Dylan Coghlan will replace Heinola in the lineup Monday against the Boston Bruins. He skated with Noah Hanifin during line drills.

Jeremy Lauzon, who had skated with Hanifin, was paired with Rasmus Andersson.

“He’s played well for us,” Craig said of Coghlan. “It was a chance to get Ville in. I expect ‘Cogs’ to play next game.”

Forward Victor Olofsson will travel as he inches closer to a return. Olofsson has not played since Oct. 6 with an upper-body injury.

He was a noncontact participant on Saturday. Craig did not commit to if Olofsson could return Monday. The Knights play the second half of a back-to-back Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Olofsson skated with Trevor Connelly and Tomas Hertl during drills, an indication that line will be put back together when the 31-year-old officially returns.

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

Up next

Who: Golden Knights at Bruins

When: 4 p.m. Monday

Where: TD Garden, Boston

TV: KMCC-34

Radio: KVGS 107.9 FM