3 takeaways: Utah hands Knights worst home loss ever
The Golden Knights have had many highs at T-Mobile Arena. The lows haven’t come often, but when they do, they’re met with a thud.
One of those lows came calling Saturday.
The Knights suffered their worst home defeat in franchise history, losing 6-0 to the Utah Hockey Club in the second night of a back-to-back at home.
They’ve been on the wrong end of some lopsided results at home, but never to the margin of six goals. The most goals they’ve given up is eight in an 8-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on March 14, 2018.
Goaltender Ilya Samsonov allowed all six goals on 28 shots — four of them in the first period — and the Knights (15-7-3) couldn’t build off the momentum of Friday’s 4-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
“We’ve got to find a way to start better, especially at home,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “It’s tough to get down 4-0 in the first, but we tried to push our way back. It’s just a huge climb in this league.”
The stars aligned for the Knights. One night after facing backup goalie Eric Comrie — not reigning Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck — the Knights were facing Utah (10-10-4) on the second night of a back-to-back with AHL goalie Jaxson Stauber.
The undrafted goalie out of Minnesota had five NHL starts under his belt coming into Saturday, but it was his first start since February 2023.
Stauber turned away all 29 shots he faced for his first shutout and the first in Utah history.
“That one stings a bit,” left wing Tanner Pearson said. “Not the way we want to play at home.”
The entire night wasn’t a waste. The Knights got off to a strong start in the first five minutes that also included killing a tripping penalty by right wing Victor Olofsson less than two minutes into the game.
The Knights got the kill and developed quality chances on Stauber. They couldn’t capitalize.
But Utah did because the Knights mismanaged the puck. Utah’s first three goals came off Knights turnovers. Utah captain Clayton Keller opened the scoring at 5:33 off a neutral-zone turnover.
The Knights had a chance to get one back on the power play. With 16 seconds left on the man advantage, Samsonov went to play the puck in the corner and try a stretch pass. Center Alex Kerfoot intercepted the pass while Samsonov was well out of his crease.
He dove back to the net and got a piece of the shot, but the puck hopped over him and into the net for a 2-0 lead at 9:26.
Right wing Nick Schmaltz and center Logan Cooley added two more in the final minutes of the period.
“We didn’t execute well enough early on. We mismanaged the puck on their first three goals. You end up chasing the game,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “You can’t chase the game in the National Hockey League.”
Here are three takeaways from the loss:
1. A lot of hockey
This was the Knights’ seventh game in 10 days. Five of them came on a week-long road trip across Canada, Philadelphia and Colorado.
The Knights had energy at the start, but once they fell behind 4-0, there was no energy left to try and make a game out of it.
Every team is dealing with a condensed schedule because of the 4 Nations Face-Off this season, with a lot of hockey in a tight window between now and February. The Knights won’t use that as an excuse, but the past week has been a grind.
“The schedule is a bit ridiculous. Go on a nine-day road trip and you come back to play a back-to-back,” Pietrangelo said. “You get a two-week break in the middle of the season, it’s going to happen. You’re going to play a lot of hockey in a short period of time.”
2. Olofsson’s return
Olofsson returned to the lineup after missing the past 20 games with a lower-body injury. He hadn’t played since Oct. 15 in Washington.
The 29-year-old winger skated on the third line with center William Karlsson and left wing Brett Howden. Olofsson was a minus-2 in 16:54.
Olofsson had three goals in four games before going down. The Knights haven’t needed his offense, but it’ll be a welcome addition in the middle of the lineup.
3. Hanifin seeing goals
Defenseman Noah Hanifin has been a positive defensive player since he arrived in Las Vegas in March, but this season has been uncharacteristic for him.
Hanifin was a minus-4 on Saturday, making him a minus-7 for the season. It’s the third time this season — and second time in less than a week — that Hanifin has been on the ice for three goals allowed.
Cassidy said it’s not a concern, but it is something the coaching staff has talked to Hanifin about, particularly with net-front coverage.
“We just want him to get back to playing on his toes, and I think we’ll get there,” Cassidy said. “It just hasn’t been the best start for him.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.