Help is on the way: Golden Knights sign Nate Schmidt long-term after loss

By Case Keefer (contact)

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018 | 11:45 p.m.

Of all the things that could have rankled Vegas Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant about his team’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena, one stood out above the rest.

It was the same source of much of Gallant’s consternation through an underwhelming 4-4-1 start to the season for the defending Western Conference champions — too many defensive breakdowns.

“Tonight, we gave up some breakaways and some odd-man rushes for no apparent reason,” Gallant said. “They made some good plays, but we were a little bit sleepy in the first two periods to give up those opportunities.”

During a three-game winning streak ahead of the Pacific Division showdown with Vancouver, Vegas had appeared to shore up some of the recurring defensive issues that had plagued it throughout the first week of the season. That stretch may have been an anomaly based on the performance against the Canucks, which became yet another team to regularly get behind the Golden Knights’ defense.

Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who had 24 saves, bailed Vegas out of a couple bad situations but was left all but helpless in the second period when Bo Horvat slipped past Shea Theodore and Nick Holden. Horvat beat Fleury high for his second goal in 64 seconds.

The good news? Help is on the way.

It might have been easy for the 18,189 fans in attendance frustrated by the upset loss to forget that the Golden Knights were playing without two of their top four defenseman. Deryk Engelland could return from injury as soon as Friday when the Golden Knights take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the penultimate game of their current home stand.

More important, top defender Nate Schmidt has only 11 games left to serve on a suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. And when he returns from a stint with the Vienna Capitals in Austria, he won’t have the previously expected pressure of a contract year weighing over him.

Vegas announced it signed Schmidt to a six-year contract extension worth a total of $35.7 million less than 30 minutes after Markus Granlund’s game-winning shootout goal on Marc-Andre Fleury.

“We miss him a lot,” Gallant said. “He’s a big part of our group and we’re real happy to have him long term.”

Many expected the Golden Knights would experience some drop-off with Schmidt missing nearly a quarter of the season. It just might have turned out to be an even greater obstacle than anticipated with Vegas struggling in the exact areas where Schmidt excels.

For instance, Schmidt would have likely spent most of Wednesday’s game defending Horvat, the Canucks’ top-line center.

Schmidt, who contributed 36 points last season, is also considered the Golden Knights’ best offensive defenseman. Vegas is yet to get a goal from any defenseman this season.

He served on Vegas’ power-play units last year, too. Against the Canucks, the Golden Knights went 0-for-3 on the power play to solidify their last-place spot in the NHL at 2-for-27 on the season.

“He’s the kind of defenseman that every team in this league is looking for now,” Golden Knights general manager George McPhee said. “He’s unique in that he’s excellent defensively. He’s become a shutdown defenseman for us playing against the other clubs’ top players but he also brings a lot of pace to the game and he brings a lot of offense.”

In fairness, Vegas did produce a lot of offense versus Vancouver. It just caught Jacob Markstrom on one of his best nights, as the Canucks’ goalie racked up 33 saves through the overtime period and then stopped all four Golden Knights’ shots in the shootout.

Vegas’ two goals, scored by Max Pacioretty and Ryan Reaves in the second period, came off perfect setup passes from Erik Haula and William Carrier, respectively, that made saves nearly impossible.

Alex Tuch wasn’t a part of any of the goals, but in another good sign for Vegas going forward, he spurred much of the attack in regulation. Playing in his first game after a preseason injury, Tuch had a game-high five shots and helped put linemates Pacioretty and Haula in advantageous positions.

“I thought we got our chemistry going as the second period went on and especially in the third, we got a lot more chances,” Tuch said. “It will come over time.”

That’s the message the Golden Knights are banking on. If they can stay afloat a little longer, there’s a lot of reasons for future optimism.

“I’d like to see what this team looks like when everyone gets in,” McPhee said.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.