Injuries never slowed Knights’ pursuit of excellence

It wasn’t as bad this season as last — a reported 500 man games lost is fairly ridiculous in scope — but it’s not as if the Golden Knights escaped a long list of injuries in 2022-23.

And yet they kept winning

Kept earning points.

Kept their skates on the pedal.

It’s a resilient bunch, these Knights, back in the Stanley Cup playoffs after missing the ultimate of hockey parties for the first time in franchise history last season.

“This year has been more of a ‘next man up has to do the job,’” forward Jonathan Marchessault said. “Guys go down, and others step up. That’s a winning mentality. We learned from our mistakes last year, and it shows in our dedication now.

“We’re not one of those teams with a bunch of young players. We’re veterans who have won big games in the past, but we haven’t won it all. That’s our main goal — win it all.”

They’ll certainly have an opportunity, specifically if they can get and remain healthy throughout the postseason. They’ll really have a chance if their top defensemen stay on the ice and off the trainer’s table.

It has been the backbone of this team, a stingy defense that has most nights given more than an admirable effort in front of whoever happens to be in net. (And that could really be anyone.)

It’s one of the best — arguably the best? — blue lines in hockey when the top six are present and accounted for.

Pursuit of excellence

Injuries never slowed the overall pursuit of excellence. Nothing really did, no matter which or how many bodies were out of the lineup for a given game.

Or games.

Or weeks.

Or months.

“We had such a depleted team for the entire season last year,” forward Reilly Smith said. “I feel like this year, someone was always coming back when another went out. We’ve done a great job of guys coming in and filling roles and then being contributors when they’re in there.

“It seemed like every game, someone different was coming in and scoring a big goal. Guys being able to jump in and create an impact is a big reason for our success.”

Maybe one night it was Ben Hutton. And another night Pavel Dorofeyev. Another night Ivan Barbashev. And another night Paul Cotter. And on and on.

Those jumping in. Making that impact when called upon.

Players credit the team’s leadership group for the resiliency shown in the face of injuries but also champion a collective effort within the room. There are Stanley Cup winners in and around it, meaning you have plenty of experience and knowledge when it comes to navigating the grind of a long season and its inevitable hiccups.

“We have great depth, which always helps, guys who can play over all the lines and against top-end players on the other team,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “We have good leadership, those who have gone deep into the playoffs. And a lot of character. When you have those things, it’s just a lot of fun being in the room.”

Lessons learned

Culture is key. Whatever the Knights took from missing the playoffs last season has been translated into a more efficient purpose this one. They didn’t escape the injuries, but scaled such hurdles in a way that promoted more a sense of togetherness.

Marchessault is right. Lessons learned.

“We have a lot of guys in the locker room who have played a long time and were leaders before coming here, so it’s not just a few,” Smith said, “It has to be everyone in the room. We’ve done a good job enjoying coming to the rink and playing with each other. This is a really tight team, and that has been a real key for us.”

It’s a resilient bunch.

One good enough to win it all.

On the ice and off the trainer’s table.

Do that and a special run is more than possible.

Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.