Vegas Striving To Get Back To Old Ways

It would be inaccurate to say the Vegas Golden Knights are a shadow of themselves from a season ago. More like they're standing in the shadows and fighting to get back to the light.
They're the same team and maybe even better in terms of personnel. So why the different results?
Through five games of the regular season Vegas is 1-4 with a goal differential of minus nine. For comparison, Vegas finished last season with a goal differential of plus 44. It's one of the most comprehensive stats in hockey and points to whether a team is going to be successful in the win column: do they score more goals than they allow?
Lots of things factor into this statistic and in some ways goal differential is the symptom rather than the cause. For Vegas, early on, the causes are rooted in execution. The Golden Knights are sixth in the league in shot differential with a plus 9.8. They're outshooting their opponents which should translate to more scoring chances for and less scoring chances against. The next step in the equation should be more goals for and less goals against, which results in wins rather than losses.

But somewhere in the formula, Vegas is stumbling. The team is last in the league in save percentage with an .846 mark. Coupled with a shooting percentage of just 5.23 percent and Vegas has a PDO mark (combined save and shooting percentage) of .898 which is last in the league.
So, it's pretty simple. Convert on more scoring chances and get more saves and the wins will follow. Except in hockey, the most difficult things to do are scoring and saving. It comes down to execution and puck luck and sometimes it just isn't predictable.
Need a save: The goaltending has been fine. What constitutes a bad goal is subjective but most observers would agree Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban haven't been shaky. What they also haven't been is consistently incredible. It's a lot to ask but it's the plight of today's NHL goalie - sometimes you have to make the save no one can believe which is exactly what Fleury and Subban did last season. A lot of what has happened in goal has been a team lapse. Falling behind as often as Vegas has early on has forced the team to chase and take chances which leaves the goalies in a vulnerable spot. Playing with a lead is much easier on a goalie and that just has not happened enough.
Find some finish: Scoring is up around the NHL but in Vegas it is down. Last year the Golden Knights had a shooting percentage of 9.97 and right now they're at 5.23. If Vegas was shooting at last year's heights they'd have 17 goals for right now instead of nine which would result in more wins. Thirteen players on the roster have been held to no goals and only two have more than one
Missing Nate: Suspended defenseman Nate Schmidt is in Austria skating with the Geneva Capitals and he is sorely missed. Look at the last two games where the best players of the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins feasted on Vegas. Put Schmidt in the lineup and he's out against the best players of the opposition. He proved to be one of the most effective shutdown D in the NHL last season. He can't get back fast enough.
Cut down the errors: Vegas was beaten on two breakaways in the loss to Pittsburgh and when Gallant was asked about after the game, as always, his answer was direct and simple
It's kind of the first rule of defense in a lot of sports. Errors cost teams in the NHL where the best scorers are opportunistic. Vegas simply can't make as many mistakes as they've been making. They can't turn the puck over, take as many penalties and blow coverages at the same rate.