Columbus Blue Jackets celebrate a goal by center Alexander Wennberg (10) in the third period during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at T-Mobile Arena Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) skates by at left.
Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020 | 11:03 p.m.
The seven straight games at T-Mobile Arena was supposed to be a godsend for a Vegas team looking to create separation in a tight race for the Pacific Division.
A loss to the Penguins on Tuesday, sure, it happens. But then, the Golden Knights fell behind by four goals Thursday after a period in a defeat to the Kings, and on Saturday they didn’t score against Columbus in a 3-0 loss.
The end result: The Golden Knights only earned eight of a possible 14 points during the seven games.
Vegas started the night in sole possession of first place in the division, but was hanging on by virtue of a tiebreaker. There are five teams within three points of the division lead, and the loss Saturday dropped Vegas to third place, and fifth by points percentage.
The closest the Golden Knights came to a goal on Saturday was when Reilly Smith appeared to go top shelf in the first minute of the third period. It brought the crowd to its feet when the goal horn and celebratory smoke went off, but the problem is the puck didn’t go in the net.
It caromed off the crossbar and play continued as usual. Seven minutes later Alexander Wennberg potted the third Columbus goal.
The would-be goal from Smith one of the only times to home crowd could rejoice on Saturday. They threw up a cheer when Shea Theodore put a big hit on Kevin Stenlund with 7:14 to play, but even coach Gerard Gallant thought that was sarcastic applause.
There were boos in the last minute of the game, which could have been for Columbus running out the clock behind its own net, but if it was to voice displeasure in the outcome of the game, no one would have blamed them.
“We looked like we were skating in sand tonight,” Gallant said. “You have those nights and tonight’s a bad night to have it.”
The Golden Knights will now embark on the longest road trip in the team’s three-year history and won’t return home for four weeks. First is a four-game swing through the Northeast, which will be followed by the All-Star break, a bye week and four games through the Southeast. Vegas won’t play another home game until Feb. 8.
The Pacific is so tight that there isn’t much margin for error on that trip. Nine days ago the Golden Knights had the best points percentage in the division and that sent Gallant to the All-Star Game as the division’s representative.
They beat St. Louis in their next game, then fell flat in a trifecta of games. A losing streak much longer than the current three-game skid could put Vegas in a precarious position when it comes to clawing for the division.
The silver lining is that the trip starts with games against Buffalo, Ottawa and Montreal, the respective Nos. 25, 29 and 26-ranked teams in the NHL by points. It’s an opportunity to erase the sour taste in their mouths.
“It will say a lot about our group when we sit back in this room after these next eight games about what we’re going to be like,” defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “When things are going really well for you it’s easy to find things to give you confidence, and when things aren’t going well for you, it’s really hard to find things that give you confidence. And as a group, sometimes a road trip is one of those things.”
Justin Emerson can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Justin on Twitter at twitter.com/@j15emerson.
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