Gallant ‘bothered’ by slow starts plaguing Golden Knights

By Jesse Granger

Wednesday, March 28, 2018 | 11 p.m.

The Golden Knights need to find a way to start the game angry.

Vegas fell 3-2 to the lowly Arizona Coyotes Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena, despite outplaying them for most of the game. Once again, the Golden Knights have a slow start to blame.

“You start off bad, then all of a sudden you get a little pissed off, and you start to play your game,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “That shouldn’t happen with our team.”

They’ve been outshot in the first period in six of the last seven games, surrendering 92 shots on goal while only accruing 57 during that stretch.

“It’s bothering me a lot,” Gallant said. “We had a great first game of the road trip in San Jose with an unbelievable first period, and then the last three since that we’ve been chasing the game every game. That’s three in a row and we have to fix it.”

Vegas has mustered only 17 shots on goal in the first period over the three-game stretch Gallant is referring to, forcing them to play catch-up for the final two-thirds of the game.

“When the opposing team scores first, it’s kind of a downer,” forward Alex Tuch said. “You can’t really control how your emotions go sometimes, but when they score first then you’re chasing. You’re chasing the puck, chasing the game and chasing the score.”

Tuch scored his 14th goal of the season Wednesday night, tipping a shot by Jonathan Marchessault past Arizona goaltender Antti Raanta to tie the game 2-2. The tie was brief, as the Coyotes immediately regained the lead with a goal from Kevin Connauton.

“(The Coyotes) came out hard and played well,” Tuch said. “We weren’t able to match it early on then it was too little, too late. In the first we were chasing the puck a little bit, and then in the second and third I thought we were dominant. We were possessing the puck and making good plays off the rush. We just weren’t able to capitalize.”

Vegas made a valiant effort to come back in the final two periods, creating a collection of dangerous chances. Tuch and William Karlsson both rang shots off the iron in the second period, and James Neal hit the post in the third on a play that was so close to a goal that the goal horn and smoke went off inside the arena.

But in the first period, they were consistently beaten to loose pucks, outworked on the forecheck and rarely had sustained pressure in the offensive zone. Coaches and players have identified the slow starts as the problem. Solving it could prove more difficult.

“It comes from between your ears more than anything,” forward Erik Haula said. “I wish I knew the answer and I could fix it immediately.”

Haula scored his 29th goal of the season to tie the game 1-1 in the first period.

“We just played our game (in the second and third periods),” Haula said. “I don’t think it’s rocket science. Our game is pretty simple. The mentality has just gotta be a little bit different going into the game.”

David Perron, who leads the Golden Knights with 50 assists, missed the game and was replaced by Oscar Lindberg. Gallant did not provide an update on Perron after the game but Tuch said, “We are missing him big time and hopefully he comes back soon."

While the Golden Knights would have liked a win Wednesday night, the loss is relatively insignificant in the grand scheme. More important, they need to figure things out before the playoffs start on April 11.

“We can’t do that, we need to come out hard,” Tuch said. “That’s what we did the first half of the season and that’s why we were so good at home. We have to get back to being ready for the playoffs like we were a few weeks ago.”

Vegas will host St. Louis and San Jose in the next four days, both of which are fighting for their playoff lives. The Sharks trail the Golden Knights by five points in the Pacific Division with five games remaining, with their eyes set on preventing the first banner in T-Mobile Arena history.

“Nothing has changed with our game plan, it’s just the way we’ve come out and it’s bothered me,” Gallant said. “I want a consistent, solid, 60-minute effort and we haven’t had that.”