Bruce Cassidy had a simple message for his team Monday: get back to work. After a 7-1 drubbing by the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, the Vegas Golden Knights held a practice that emphasized competitiveness and the basics, a stark contrast to their typical in-season routine.

“Just being a little more competitive,” Cassidy said. “We talked about that before practice a little bit, got to work on it. I thought we had a good day out there.”

The loss matched the worst margin of defeat in franchise history and marked a season-high in goals allowed. It came just two days after the Knights (25-14-12) turned in what Cassidy called their best effort of the season in a win over Toronto.

“We went through some video. Not a lot because it wasn’t pretty,” Cassidy said. “We discussed the areas we need to get better on and in that video.”

Cassidy called the practice a chance to “reset.” Instead of the typical touches and power-play work, the team focused on one-on-one, two-on-two, and three-on-three drills. “We put our work boots on,” he said.

The Knights have dropped three of their last four games, a stretch that follows a season-high seven-game winning streak. Offense has been scarce: aside from the six-goal outburst in Toronto, Vegas has managed just five goals in the other three games of this trip, with three of those coming in the third period Thursday in Boston after falling behind 4-0.

Captain Mark Stone said the solution isn’t a change in game plan. “It’s more just work ethic, compete, win some battles. It was one of those nights; for whatever reason, we didn’t have the fire. We went into Toronto, had something to play for. We were fired up to play. You’ve got to find ways to bring it every night.”

Stone pointed to the condensed schedule as a factor, noting that even the hottest teams have letdowns. He cited Tampa Bay, which won 11 straight and 14 of 15 before allowing eight goals in a loss to Columbus on Sunday. “We’ve done a pretty good job at responding, but tomorrow’s no different. If you don’t respond, then you start to worry a little bit,” he said.

The Knights wrap up their four-game road trip Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens (28-17-7) at Bell Centre. Montreal holds the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, and Cassidy emphasized the need to start on time.