'Road to the NHL Winter Classic' premieres on TNT, MAX

Jonathan Marchessault keeps making mistakes. After a turnover leads to a goal for the Dallas Stars, Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy talks to the forward on the bench, telling him he needs to manage the puck better.

“That’s my bad,” Marchessault says.

“Just [bleeping] play behind them,” Cassidy says as he watches the play. “Now we just turned it over.”

“That’s my bad,” Marchessault repeats, a little louder, as Cassidy speaks.

“I know it was,” Cassidy says. “I’m just saying. Read the ice.”

That’s just one peek behind the scenes in the first episode of “Road to the Discover NHL Winter Classic presented by Enterprise,” which premiered on TNT and Max on Wednesday in the United States and will debut on SN1 at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday in Canada.

The four-part docuseries follows the Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken as they prepare for the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park in Seattle on Jan. 1 (3 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, SN, TVAS).

The first episode shows several moments fans normally don’t get to see and hear, such as Kraken coach Dave Hakstol talking to center Yanni Gourde at practice and the Golden Knights enjoying dinner during their Fathers Trip to St. Louis and Dallas.

The cameras follow Seattle defenseman Ryker Evans during his NHL debut in a 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, even as he puts on his tie in his hotel room, drives to the rink in his Jeep and puts on his equipment in the locker room. They show his parents watching his first shift, his mother recording with her phone.

They provide insight into the Golden Knights. Vegas won the Stanley Cup last season, Marchessault was voted the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Golden Knights defeated the Stars 6-1 on Saturday. The standards are high.

Marchessault goes back to the bench, slams the door shut and kicks it. He tries to bank the puck off the boards into the offensive zone, only to hit linesman Devin Berg and turn it over. He curses, and as he skates off, he barks back, “Where am I supposed to go with that?”

Then he turns over the puck that leads to the goal and the exchange on the bench with Cassidy.

“Let’s get it back,” Marchessault says. “We’ll get it back. Sorry for that.”

The Golden Knights do just that when captain Mark Stone gives Vegas a 3-1 lead in the first period. In the locker room during the first intermission, forward Keegan Kolesar asks Marchessault if he has anything to say.

“No,” Marchessault says. “Just leave me alone, Keegan.”

Marchessault isn’t alone. Cassidy bemoans a mistake by center Jack Eichel too. But the Golden Knights pull away from the Stars, and in the process, Marchessault makes things right with Berg. Sitting on the bench, he taps the linesman with his stick.

“Sorry for yelling at your earlier,” Marchessault tells him. “I blamed you for a [lousy] play from me.”