NEW YORK - Not very often in their inaugural season have the Vegas Golden Knights looked the part of an expansion team, entering the week winners of eight of their first nine games.
Then came Monday night against the Islanders, when Golden Knights goaltender Oscar Dansk was injured late in the second period on a play that resulted in Isles star John Tavares’ tying goal.
Maxime Lagace made his NHL debut in in relief; the Islanders scored four goals on 11 shots against the 24-year-old, and Vegas took a 6-3 loss. That’s a full 24 percent of the Golden Knights’ all-time goals allowed, all in one night.
Goaltending depth has already become a major concern for the Golden Knights. They've seen Marc-Andre Fleury suffer a concussion, lost Malcolm Subban to a lower-body injury, traded expansion draft pick Calvin Pickard to Toronto, and did not immediately know how severely Dansk was hurt.
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It took a journey this far down the goaltending depth chart to unearth a team that looked in need of directions around an NHL rink, the way a first-year club might usually expect to be.
“We’re an expansion team,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “And the next goalie up’s gonna play and see what happens.”
Whoever is in net, what Vegas cannot do is expose its goalie the way the Golden Knights did against the Islanders, allowing breakaway after breakaway to leave Lagace in an impossible situation. The cause of the mistakes was easy enough to identify - a trailing team gambling to make big plays instead of sticking with its usual formula.
“We keep things simple,” said defenseman Brad Hunt. “We’ve got to control the things that we can control - how hard we work, and how smart we work. Everyone is confident and we’ve got everybody believing in each other. That’s what it’s all about, and that’s when you play your best hockey.”
It’s beyond a cliche, but the reason for it is clear: When you have an expansion team, players are joining the roster from all over the league.
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To create any kind of on-ice chemistry among what are essentially strangers, there are two options: an exotic system everyone has to learn all at once, or a very basic style of play built on hockey essentials that any NHL player would be able to grasp, no matter where their previous journeys have taken them.
The Golden Knights’ choice, wisely, has been the latter.
“We play as a team,” Gallant said. “We work hard as a team, and it’s 20 guys working hard, competing hard. We keep it simple and we play the game the right way. (Monday), we made three or four huge mistakes, and they ended up in the back of our net. We weren’t making those mistakes before.”
There will be more nights like Monday for the Golden Knights, not because they are an expansion team, but because every team has those kind of performances. Two-time defending Stanley Cup champions the Pittsburgh Penguins already have a nine-goal loss and two six-goal losses this season.
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Vegas has also benefited from a home-heavy schedule that is about to even out in a big way; Monday's loss kicked off a grueling stretch in which the Golden Knights will play 12 of 16 games on the road. Vegas won't enjoy consecutive home games again until Dec. 3-5.
What Vegas has going, though, is simplicity on the ice, self-awareness, and motivation. So far, it’s paid off.
“Honestly, with this group of guys, we don’t have any Patrick Kanes, Sidney Crosbys,” said Vegas winger Alex Tuch. “There’s good, high-end talent in here like James Neal and David Perron, but even those guys play a hard-nosed game, play simple, get pucks to the net.
"Everyone’s bought into the system. Everyone’s here to showcase themselves because a lot of guys have chips on their shoulder. Guys want to go out and prove that they should’ve been protected, or shouldn’t have been traded. That’s the case for pretty much everyone out here.”
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