(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

Last night, after an excellent 1st period by the Golden Knights, the wheels fell off. Tampa Bay outscored Vegas 2-0 in the 2nd and then kept pushing to eventually win the game 6-3, scoring five of the game’s final six goals.

Everything we did in the 1st, they did in the 2nd. -Bruce Cassidy

Oddly, the offense drying up in the 2nd period has become a growing trend. In VGK’s last seven games, they have scored just one goal in the middle frame of a game. This has dropped the Golden Knights to 29th place in the NHL with just 11 goals in 13 2nd periods, better than only Calgary (10) and the New York Rangers (6).

We’re typically a good 2nd period team because we are good through the neutral zone on line changes. We can get pucks up and we recognize that. So that is odd to me. -Cassidy

Since Cassidy took over the team at the start of the 2022-23 season, the Golden Knights have scored 265 goals in 259 games in the middle frame. They’ve posted a +27 goal differential and are still +2 this season even despite the lack of production over the past few weeks.

Overall though, the 2nd period has been VGK’s worst in regards to goal differential in the Cassidy era, and it isn’t close.

1st Period: +54 (4th)
2nd Period: +27 (11th)
3rd Period: +46 (7th)

VGK rank in the Top 6 in goals scored in both the 1st and 3rd periods, but are 22nd in the 2nd. The good news, however, is that they don’t allow a ton of goals in the 2nd either. This year, they’ve given up just nine, tied for the fewest in the NHL with Seattle and New York. Only three teams (CAR, WPG, MIN) have allowed fewer than VGK’s 238 since 2022.

As for Cassidy, he doesn’t seem terribly worried about it, especially considering the recent 2nd periods against Detroit and Carolina were both excellent.

Sometimes the puck doesn’t go in. -Cassidy

Either way, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on moving forward. VGK have had a bit of a tough time getting off to slow starts. Now, that’s seeping into the 2nd period, and if they aren’t careful, they’ll run out of time to rescue games.