Experiment over: Barbashev back on Golden Knights’ top line

The experiment of rookie forward Trevor Connelly on the Vegas Golden Knights’ top line seemed to take a turn for the better on Thursday.

But much was the same for the third game in a row: Connelly, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone failed to score at five-on-five in their 3-2 loss to the Nashville Predators.

Knights coach Ryan Craig is reverting back to what works when the Knights face the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. Left wing Ivan Barbashev will return to the top line after a successful stretch skating on the third line.

Connelly will move back to that line he started the season with — and had the most success — alongside center Tomas Hertl and right wing Victor Olofsson.

“That line (of Barbashev, Eichel and Stone) has been good for a long time,” Craig said Saturday. “(Barbashev’s) got his game in real good order. Not that it was far from that, but he’s had some success.”

Back to what works

Craig isn’t wrong. Barbashev has been, arguably, the Knights’ best player the past three games with two goals and five points. The line of Barbashev, Hertl and Olofsson outshot opponents 19-15, according to Natural Stat Trick, and outscoring 4-2 with an expected goals rate of 2.68.

Connelly earned his chance to be in the top six. He provided a different dynamic with Eichel and Stone, with Craig saying he adds that shot-first mentality over Barbashev’s north-south mentality.

It wasn’t an indictment on Connelly, but the line looked disjointed with the 20-year-old up the lineup. They outshot opponents 15-11 but were outscored 1-0.

Much of it was a lack of chemistry. Connelly likes to have the puck, but so do Eichel and Stone. Connelly has to defer, but by doing so hasn’t learned where to be without the puck when they have it.

“I think when they continue to work inside and support each other, Trevor has to figure out the spacing that’s necessary when Jack has the puck, walking up and down the walls, when he’s in some trouble and needs to support and when he needs to make sure he gives him room to hang on to the puck,” Craig said Friday. “That’s part of what Mark has done so well with Jack.”

Too many cooks in the kitchen

The three looked better Friday against Nashville, outshooting the Predators 6-3 while on the ice. Connelly had three shots in the first period.

“It hasn’t been the greatest five-on-five the last week or two, but we tried to find it,” Stone said. “We had some decent o-zone shifts to start the game, but you just want to find consistency.”

Stone said that the learning curve for Connelly is going against the other team’s best players because they’re going to try and slow Eichel down.

“He’s starting to feel comfortable,” Stone said. “He’s been playing good hockey since the start of the season, and he’s a young guy. He’s going to go through lulls.”

After his two-goal effort Wednesday against Utah, Barbashev said it’s easy to play with whomever he’s skating with.

It will be a seamless transition, especially with Barbashev playing some of his best hockey at the moment.

“I don’t really care, to be honest,” Barbashev said. “Whatever line they put me on, I’m going to keep playing the same way. We were winning, and we lost yesterday, so we have to change something.”

Don’t sleep against Vancouver

Sunday’s opponent should help get the Knights back on track. Vancouver, at 3-17-1, has the fewest points in the NHL and a league-worst minus-38 goal differential.

The Knights last played the Canucks on Oct. 4, a 3-2 win in Vancouver. Since then, the Canucks have lost 17 of their last 18 games.

“Anybody can beat anybody in the National Hockey League,” Craig said. “Vancouver, yes, they’ve struggled with their record, but they work. They compete. They’re in games. There’s been a few games that have got away from them, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to be ready to start on time. We have to be ready to go.”

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

Up next

Who: Canucks at Golden Knights

When: 6 p.m. Sunday

Where: T-Mobile Arena

TV: KMCC-34

Radio: KVGS 107.9 FM/KOAS 105.7 FM (Spanish)

Line: Knights -415; total 6½