The Vegas Golden Knights dropped a wild game to the New Jersey Devils on Monday night. The game went into overtime where veteran Devils forward Tyler Toffoli completed a hat trick to seal a 6-5 victory. After the contest, Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy had some choice words regarding his team’s performance.
The Stanley Cup-winning coach tore into his team when he faced the media on Monday night. “We basically played a beer league game,” he said, via NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. “We thought it was preseason, I guess.”
The veteran bench boss wasn’t done there, either. He said his team was “careless” on the ice on Monday night. Furthermore, he called the performance by the Golden Knights “disrespectful to the game.”
Cassidy specifically called out his team’s rearguards. “We have a veteran ‘D’ corps and they were not good tonight as a group,” the Golden Knights coach said, via Rosen, after losing to the Devils in overtime.
Bruce Cassidy, Golden Knights come up short vs. Devils
The Golden Knights and Devils threw haymakers nearly the entire game. In the first period, the teams combined for three goals. New Jersey went into the locker room with a 2-1 lead. However, Vegas punched back, scoring four of a combined six goals in the second period.
Vegas held a 5-4 lead entering the third period. And in the third period, Devils forward Curtis Lazar tied the game. Lazar’s third-period goal marked his sixth of the season, and second on the night. Toffoli completed his hat trick in overtime to help New Jersey win their third game in their last eight tries.
Bruce Cassidy certainly wants to see a more complete performance from his team next time out. The defending Stanley Cup champions hope to shake off this loss and get a win on Tuesday when they face the New York Islanders.
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