The Vegas Golden Knights will try to rebound from their most lopsided defeat of the season when they visit the St. Louis Blues on Thursday.
The Golden Knights remain near the top of the NHL standings, but Tuesday’s 6-2 home loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning was one they would prefer to forget. The teams were tied 2-2 after the first period before Tampa Bay scored four unanswered goals, including three in the second.
“You give (the Lightning) free offense, they feast,” Vegas forward Mark Stone said, pointing to his team’s “unforced errors,” including turnovers and an inability to get the puck out of its zone.
“You’re going to have a little lull in the season, you’re going to have these types of nights,” Stone said. “You have to correct your mistakes and build on the good stuff that you did. … I don’t think there’s a measuring stick game in game 11.”
Stone scored a short-handed goal in the first period, extending his goal streak to three games. He leads Vegas with eight goals, while Jack Eichel leads the team in assists (13) and points (18).
Teammate Mitch Marner has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) during a seven-game scoring streak.
The Golden Knights’ usual goaltending rotation suggests Adin Hill will start Thursday. In four starts, Hill is 4-0-0 with a 2.21 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.
The Blues snapped a two-game losing streak and opened their five-game homestand with a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. Defenseman Philip Broberg recorded an assist before scoring the game-winning goal on the power play 8:47 into the third period to break a 1-1 tie.
After recording three assists and nine shots in his first seven games, Broberg has three points (two goals, one assist) and 10 shots over his last two outings. His recent surge has coincided with a move to a defensive pairing with Justin Barron and a return to the Blues’ top power-play unit.
“I think (Broberg has) gone from neutral to overdrive to Lamborghini style here in the last two games if you’re comparing him to a race car,” St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery said. “And it’s fun to watch because he has so much intensity within him. … He wants the puck, he wants to be a difference-maker.”
St. Louis has scored a power-play goal in each of its last four games after opening the season 1-for-11 with the man advantage. The Blues also have one of the NHL’s better penalty-killing units, with an 85.7% success rate (24-for-28) through nine games.
Dylan Holloway leads the Blues with six assists. All six, along with one goal, have come during the forward’s five-game point streak.
Joel Hofer stopped 32 of 33 shots Tuesday and is expected to start against the Golden Knights. Hofer is 3-2-1 with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in six starts.
Vegas is 8-1-2 in its last 11 games against St. Louis dating to the 2022-23 season.