Knights vs. Stars: Key Game as Teams Seek Bounce Back

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00:00All right, big game tonight at the T-Mobile with the Knights and Stars.

00:05That's good hockey right there, baby.

00:08Yeah, for sure, and the Knights, I think, are a little bit feeling better about themselves

00:12after bouncing back a little bit, getting on track.

00:15They've been through a little sluggish run, no question about it,

00:17the worst run of the year by far.

00:20But I think what you're dealing with is a couple of guys

00:22that are looking forward to, you know, playing.

00:23They had seven guys that were going to play in the Four Nations.

00:26Now they're, you know, dropping like flies off that roster

00:28from the Golden Knights' perspective.

00:30But I think guys are hitting that stretch of the season

00:32where they're looking forward to the break,

00:33they're looking forward to being off,

00:34they're looking forward to playing in that tournament,

00:36and they've got to kind of get back on track.

00:38And by the way, the goalie play just hasn't been good of late for the Knights.

00:41They kind of bounced back a little bit the other day.

00:42I think they'll maybe continue that.

00:44I think Bruce Cassidy sent the message like,

00:46hey, the break hasn't started yet.

00:48So they got this game, then they're hitting another Thursday game,

00:51then they're hitting the road for the, you know,

00:53three games and one hotel trip into New York.

00:55So they're going to finish strong, and I think the message has been sent.

00:58I think they're going to bounce back a little bit before they go into that break.

01:00But certainly they're looking forward to that,

01:02and I think that's part of the slide.

01:03So what happened?

01:05They were riding high on top of the, you know, standings,

01:09and then Edmonton had no McDavid, and they still passed him.

01:13He came back last night, and they passed him.

01:16And they've had this, you know, three wins in ten skid.

01:19What happened to them?

01:20Because we're not over here following it like we're living there.

01:23You know what I'm saying? Like, what happened?

01:25How did they fall apart a little bit?

01:28Yeah, I mean, I think the first thing you look at is goaltending.

01:30And, you know, their system is designed basically to, you know, keep everything outside.

01:36The goaltender has to make a play every once in a while,

01:38but it's, hey, protect the goalies with the system.

01:40And when you do have to make a play, you've got to make that play.

01:42You're not going to have to make, you know, 50 saves in a game

01:45and stand on your head for them to win games.

01:47You just have to make three or four saves a game that are impressive,

01:50and the rest of it, the defense is going to take care of.

01:52And the goaltending has really let them down during the stretch.

01:55I don't think there's any question about it.

01:56Like Cassidy said a couple of times, like, hey, like, we are paying these guys.

01:59Like, you know, we're trying to protect them a lot,

02:00but they do have to make saves, and they just weren't making those saves when they had the chance.

02:04Got a little bounce back effort in that area.

02:06I think if you watch the goaltending, if that improves, I think the team improves.

02:09But certainly, I think it's just, it's one of those stretches that you encounter

02:12at 82-game season where, you know, you're just not seeing your best every night.

02:16And I think it's been a little bit slow for Cassidy to kind of, you know,

02:19crack the whip a little bit and say, hey, let's get to it

02:21because he knows it's a long season and he knows his team pretty well.

02:25But I think they are starting to get to the point where they're like, all right,

02:27let's get this fixed before we go on this break.

02:30So they lost to them in Dallas 4-3.

02:33It was a great game.

02:35Then they went home and beat the Stanley Cup champs on Sunday 4-1.

02:41What do you think this game will be like tonight compared to the game that was Friday night in Dallas?

02:47Well, I think that was fun, as you mentioned.

02:48It was a really fun game.

02:49It was a great game to watch, a very entertaining one.

02:51And, you know, I think there's going to be a lot of energy.

02:54Like I said, I think that they are looking to make sure they get the ship righted,

02:58especially before they go on this trip coming up.

03:00You know, they've got one more game tonight and then one more game at home.

03:03Then they're on a road trip and then they're on a break for, you know, for two weeks.

03:05So they know they've only got a couple games.

03:07They see the light at the end of the tunnel.

03:09I think they allowed themselves to lose focus a little bit.

03:11But I do think this game is going to be much better.

03:13We saw that bounce back performance.

03:14It was the goaltending, but everybody played really, really well against Florida.

03:17I think they understood the importance of that game.

03:19And I think now bouncing back after knowing they lost to Dallas last week,

03:22I think you see a really, really big effort from the Knights tonight, no question.

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