Golden Knights’ struggling power play under microscope this season

Golden Knights manager Pete DeBoer doesn’t privation a referendum held connected his team’s powerfulness play aft each game.

“If we spell 4-for-4, I’m not going to archer you it’s fixed. And if we spell 0-for-4, I don’t privation you to accidental it’s ne'er going to beryllium fixed,” helium said during grooming camp. “Evaluate this astatine the extremity of the year.”

But marque nary mistake: Aside from the team’s goaltending, nary country of the Knights’ crippled this play volition beryllium much intimately scrutinized than the powerfulness play.

That unit’s deficiency of occurrence the past 2 postseasons factored heavy into the team’s ouster, and unit changes were made during the offseason successful hopes of avoiding different repetition performance.

“It comes down to coaches; they springiness america the structure. Everything is there,” near helping Jonathan Marchessault said. “But we request arsenic players to instrumentality pridefulness successful doing the job. We request to instrumentality pridefulness successful the powerfulness play.”

Historically, the Knights person been hit-or-miss with the antheral advantage, peaking astatine 22 percent (ninth overall) during the 2019-20 season.

That inconsistency reared its caput successful the playoff bubble, arsenic the Knights went 3-for-22 connected the powerfulness play and couldn’t person astatine cardinal moments successful a five-game nonaccomplishment to Dallas successful the Western Conference final.

The summation of defenseman Alex Pietrangelo earlier past play was expected to elevate the powerfulness play. Instead, it sunk to 22nd successful the NHL (17.8 percent), and the vessel ran aground successful the playoffs.

The Knights went 4-for-43 wide (league-worst 9.3 percent) and were incapable to person connected 18 consecutive power-play opportunities, including an 0-for-15 showing against Montreal successful the Stanley Cup semifinal loss.

“You ticker powerfulness plays, I deliberation the astir palmy ones, you tin ticker the stats and I deliberation it’s disconnected one-timers and stuff. It’s astir execution,” Marchessault said. “Obviously, it goes on with connection, also. We’ll spot however it goes, but it’s a agelong season.

“I deliberation we person capable endowment successful our country to find a solution.”

Forward Evgenii Dadonov was acquired successful an offseason commercialized with Ottawa and has a way grounds of occurrence connected the powerfulness play successful the mediate position, known arsenic the “bumper.” He scored a career-high 11 power-play goals with Florida successful 2019-20.

Also, halfway Nolan Patrick was brought successful from Philadelphia to usage his size and playmaking astatine the net-front spot and on the extremity line.

That has allowed Mark Stone to enactment on the near half-wall with Shea Theodore connected defence and stationed Max Pacioretty successful the close circle, wherever helium seems to beryllium astir comfy firing pucks.

The 2nd portion during grooming campy featured Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith joined by Pietrangelo and Alec Martinez connected defense. Chandler Stephenson besides has seen clip with that group.

“We bash person much pieces. I deliberation that allows guys to spell to positions that they’re comfortable,” Pacioretty said. “I deliberation you saw a batch of guys determination astir successful antithetic positions past year, and that sometimes could beryllium putting a quadrate peg successful a circular hole. And past that has a domino effect connected the remainder of the unit.

“Hopefully, with 2 units with extent similar that we tin fig retired a powerfulness play that tin beryllium lethal this year.”

Contact David Schoen astatine dschoen@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ connected Twitter.