Golden Knights left wing center Chandler Stephenson views the 40- to 60-game mark of the NHL season as the “dog days,” with teams fighting to maintain their play while waiting for the trade deadline.
The Knights are feeling it now.
They’ve lost three of four entering Thursday’s 7 p.m. matchup with the Detroit Red Wings at T-Mobile Arena. Another loss will see the Knights drop three straight for the first time this season.
The banged-up squad — which is missing captain Mark Stone, left wing William Carrier and defensemen Shea Theodore and Zach Whitecloud, among others — is trying to shake the skid without gripping its sticks too tight. The Knights did keep it loose in practice the past two days.
Rookie Paul Cotter was pranked Wednesday, with his stuff spread all over the locker room at City National Arena. Right wing Jonathan Marchessault also provided a light moment in Thursday’s morning skate when he back-checked during a drill when he wasn’t supposed to because center Nicolas Roy bumped him in the offensive zone.
“Just little things like that to get everybody laughing, get everybody cheering,” Stephenson said. “You just want to have that energy, have that fun. I think we lost that. We’re just trying to get that back. I think that once we do, you’re not going to remember this stretch.”
The Knights’ opponent gives them an opportunity to bring their record during this homestand back to even. They’re 2-3 with two games remaining and 13-12 at T-Mobile Arena overall.
The Red Wings have the fourth-fewest points in the Eastern Conference and are 0-2-1 in their past three games. The Knights beat them 4-1 on Dec. 23 in Detroit, with goaltender Adin Hill making 24 saves. The 26-year-old is expected to start Thursday. Starting goaltender information for the Red Wings was not available.
“They’re a team that’s still trying to find their way right now,” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They had a good start to the year, gave back some ground. Now they’re on a road trip where I think they’re fighting to find their game.”
Knights vs. Red Wings (7 p.m.)
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: KKGK (98.9 FM, 1340 AM)
Line: Knights -176; total 6½
Knights record: 28-15-2
Red Wings record: 18-17-8
Head-to-head: Knights 1-0-0
Knights’ projected lineup:
Chandler Stephenson — Jack Eichel — Phil Kessel
Reilly Smith — William Karlsson — Jonathan Marchessault
Jonas Rondbjerg — Byron Froese — Michael Amadio
Paul Cotter — Nicolas Roy — Keegan Kolesar
Nic Hague — Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb — Kaedan Korczak
Alec Martinez — Ben Hutton
Adin Hill
Contact Ben Gotz at [email protected]. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.
