New-look Knights open 6th season with test against Kings

Captain Mark Stone used the word “slow.” Defenseman Brayden McNabb went with “long.” For goaltender Logan Thompson, “it’s been forever.”

The Golden Knights haven’t played a meaningful hockey game in 167 days. That’s how much down time missing the NHL playoffs for the first time in franchise history afforded them.

The Knights are determined to delay their next offseason for as long as possible. That task starts Tuesday when they open their sixth season at 7 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena with a nationally televised game on ESPN against the Los Angeles Kings.

It’s an early opportunity for the Knights to back up their talk that this season will be different. The Kings, coming off a third-place finish in the Pacific Division, were one of the teams that booted them out of the playoff picture. They will provide a challenge right away.

“If we’re going to get back in, there’s somebody we got to knock out,” Stone said. “It’s a team that we need to be chasing from Day One and try to gain some ground.”

Facing off against an up-and-coming Los Angeles team that added 33-goal scorer Kevin Fiala in the offseason should help give early answers to the litany of questions the Knights are facing.

How fast will they adapt to first-year coach Bruce Cassidy’s defensive systems? Can he improve their poor special teams performance? Is there enough scoring with left wing Max Pacioretty and right wing Evgenii Dadonov leaving in trades? And can a starting goaltender duo of Thompson, a rookie, and 26-year-old Adin Hill hold up with Robin Lehner out for the season after undergoing hip surgery?

The Kings should provide a stress test in all those areas. The Knights know it.

“These points, first game of the year, they’re going to go a long way,” Thompson said. “Big statement game, and everyone’s ready to go.”

The location of the game is also poetic. A trip to Los Angeles for the second game of last season provided some of the first signs of trouble for the Knights, who lost 6-2. Worse than that, Stone experienced nerve pain in his back and didn’t play in the third period.

It was the start of a lingering injury that cost him 45 games. Also, Pacioretty broke his foot in the game as part of the avalanche of injuries that added up to more than 500 man-games lost.

The team is starting this season in a much healthier place. After undergoing back surgery in May, Stone played in three preseason games and declared himself “ready for another grind” Monday. The only players who are nursing injuries are left wing William Carrier (midbody), who rejoined practice Monday, and goaltender Laurent Brossoit (hip), who could get cleared for team activities soon.

The Knights have the 10th-best odds to win the Stanley Cup on VegasInsider.com, down from third-best a year ago. They want to show they’re better than that and are still a contender. Beating a playoff team on the road would be a good way to start.

“We want to prove to a lot of people that we’re a better team than we were last year,” center Nicolas Roy said. “We have a really good roster. I like our players. I’m excited about what’s coming.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.