SALT LAKE CITY — The Vegas Golden Knights need their top players to get going.
A simple messaging. One that shouldn’t need reinforcing this time of year.
But it’s the difference in why the Knights trail the Utah Mammoth 2-1 in the best-of-seven series with a crucial Game 4 at Delta Center on Monday.
“We need to get some guys on track,” coach John Tortorella said.
The cumulative scoreboard in this series reads 9-8 in favor of the Mammoth. On paper, it’s been that close.
Five players from each team have found the back of the net following Utah’s 4-2 win in Game 3 on Friday.
It’s about who is scoring the goals right now.
Utah’s top players are getting it done. The Mammoth have gotten two goals each from three top-six forwards and a top-four defenseman.
Mammoth winger Dylan Guenther showed in Game 3 why he has one of the best shots in the league. Center Logan Cooley continues to be a menace at both ends.
Utah forward Lawson Crouse scored twice in the second period to give Utah’s top line its first points of the series.
The Knights, meanwhile, are getting depth scoring, but not from their top playmakers.
They’ve gotten three goals from their fourth line — two, as of Friday, from center Nic Dowd.
Captain Mark Stone has two goals, but both have come on the power play. Ivan Barbashev has two, but one was an empty-netter.
Jack Eichel scored his first goal of the playoffs Friday, but it came when the Knights trailed 4-0.
“I’m not going to shy away from it. Our top guys have got to score some goals for us,” Tortorella said. “They know that, too. I don’t have to remind them. They know that.”
Peel back the curtain more, and there are seven Knights players who haven’t registered a point.
Two of them are top-four defensemen, Shea Theodore and Rasmus Andersson, who have are a combined minus-3.
One is a top-six winger, Brett Howden, who has been quiet while playing on a line with Pavel Dorofeyev and Mitch Marner.
Dorofeyev, who led the team with 37 goals in the regular season, was moved down to the fourth line Friday and didn’t have his best chances until he was put on that line.
“I thought that there was some positives from the game, and I liked a lot of things that we did,” Eichel said. “It’s not easy to win this time of year.”
The Knights felt there was plenty of good coming out of Game 3, especially with the way they defended the Mammoth in the neutral zone.
They held Utah to 12 shots — the fewest ever allowed in a playoff game — while controlling most of the game in the offensive zone.
Tortorella thinks that will come, but it starts with taking care of things on the defensive side. Even though they fell behind 4-0, Tortorella said progress starts with how they defend.
“We still need to get some guys on track, but I want us to defend the proper way,” Tortorella said. “I think that’s the most important thing. We defend the proper way, our offense will come. I have full trust in the guys that way.”
The Knights could have used their power play to let their top players get in the flow, but the unit went 0-for-4 in Game 3.
Tomas Hertl still has not scored since March 4. If there’s one who could benefit from a power play goal, it’s the team’s net-front presence.
Marner was the Knights’ best player on Friday, but still doesn’t have a goal in three games and was held off the score sheet in Game 3.
The series is tight, both in scoreboard and series. The difference is Utah’s big-dollar players are getting it done. The Knights need to find their way.
“There’s a reason there’s seven games in a series. I think that the belief in this group doesn’t change with the outcome of a game,” Dowd said. “That’s how I think life works in general. You do things the right way, you’re going to be successful in life. I think hockey is the same way.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Golden Knights at Mammoth
What: Game 4, first round (Mammoth lead 2-1)
When: TBD, Monday
Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
TV: TBD
Radio: KFLG 94.7 FM/KKGK 1340 AM
