The Aces were in the early stages of trying to repeat as WNBA champions June 28, 2023.
They began their title defense with a historic 16-1 start. They defeated their opponents by an average of 15.1 points.
Adversity wasn’t hitting the team then. Coach Becky Hammon was fine if it did soon.
“I’d rather have some growth pains,” Hammon said. “At the end of the day, if we drop a game in June, it doesn’t hurt that bad.”
The Golden Knights lifted the Stanley Cup 15 days prior to Hammon’s comments. They went through the rigors of an 82-game season, as well as two months of playoff hockey, to reach the mountaintop. That meant plenty of ups and downs, including a 1-5-2 slide heading into the All-Star break.
So any concern over the Knights’ current 5-8-3 slump, while understandable, is also premature. The team was atop the NHL standings before slipping up.
“Our expectations are so high for ourselves and we expect more than what was happening there for a little bit,” defenseman Nic Hague said. “The key with us, we know we’re a pretty veteran group. We know when we make mistakes and we know when to be better.”
‘A veteran team’
The Knights were almost never out of any game they lost this recent stretch. Their 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders on Jan. 9 was their only defeat by more than two goals.
They started to turn things around at the end of their last road trip. After losing 4-2 to the New York Rangers to start things off — and blowing a 2-1 third-period lead in the process — the Knights allowed just 53 shots on goal their next three games.
They won their last two against the New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins to enter the 4 Nations Face-Off break on their first winning streak since they won three in a row from Jan. 2-7.
“We have a veteran team. We’re a mature group,” center Jack Eichel said. “We know the break didn’t start (Saturday) before the game. We had a job to do to come in and win a hockey game. Give the guys a ton of credit. We did that.”
The Knights, despite their slide, enter the break tied with the Edmonton Oilers atop the Pacific Division standings with 72 points. The Oilers have a game in hand. The Los Angeles Kings are seven points back with three games in hand on the Knights.
They’ve been here before
This slide may cost the Knights the Presidents’ Trophy. They’re nine points behind the NHL-leading Winnipeg Jets. But that doesn’t tend to mean much.
The 2013 Chicago Blackhawks are the last team to win both the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup, and that was in a lockout-shortened season.
Most championship teams go through frustrating stretches. The Knights know that firsthand. They’re aware dropping a few games in January doesn’t hurt that bad. As long as they turn it around when it counts.
The Knights, following their slump heading into the All-Star break in 2023, closed the regular season on a 22-4-5 run before beginning the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“If we take care of the puck, get through the neutral zone, we’re a pretty good hockey team,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We’ll blend our attack with forecheck. It’s when we start mismanaging it is when we have problems. We seemed to have corrected that lately. If we start finishing a little bit better, things will start going our way.”
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