Blue Jackets at Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights began their season-high seven-game homestand with such promise, winning four in a row before a pair of porous starts led to back-to-back defeats. The Golden Knights look to give their fans a better show on Saturday when they conclude their stretch against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
"Same old story isn't it? No excuse, we can't be ready," Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said following Thursday's 5-2 setback to Los Angeles. "We were down 3, 4-0 in the game. The first period was awful. It's embarrassing." Reilly Smith, who did his best to ignite a rally by scoring in his third straight game on Thursday, tallied twice in the Golden Knights' 2-1 victory in Columbus on Nov. 5. The Blue Jackets had fared significantly better on the road of late, however, collecting at least a point in nine straight (6-0-3) before dropping a 3-1 setback to San Jose on Thursday. Sonny Milano continued his hot play by scoring late in the second period for his fourth point (two goals, two assists) in his last five games since returning from injury.
TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: FS Ohio, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountains
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (21-16-8): Like Gallant, Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella hasn't been too keen on his team's recent performances to start a period. "We weren't sharp out there," Tortorella said. "We didn't sustain enough constant forechecking. My biggest concern right now is the start of every period, it's an epidemic with our club." Elvis Merzlikins has held the fort in lieu of the injury to Joonas Korpisalo, turning aside 188 of 201 shots in his last six outings.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (24-17-6): Max Pacioretty will be headed to his first NHL All-Star Game after being named as a replacement for Anaheim's Jakob Silfverberg, who will miss the contest because of the imminent birth of his second child. The 31-year-old Pacioretty, who will join Gallant for the festivities in St. Louis on Jan. 24-25, reached the 20-goal plateau for the seventh time in his career when he scored to trim the deficit to 4-2 late in the second period. "We're never going to quit, but at the same time, we can't look at these games and be proud about anything," said Pacioretty, who has nine (five goals, four assists) of his team-leading 45 points in the past eight games.
OVERTIME
1. Columbus C Pierre-Luc Dubois has collected six points (one goal, five assists) in his last five games.
2. Vegas has surrendered the first goal in four consecutive contests.
3. The Blue Jackets sport a 6-9-3 record against Western Conference foes, including 4-7-0 versus Pacific Division adversaries.