LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Vegas Golden Knights were back on the ice Friday at City National Arena, but it wasn’t a full reunion.
Several players, along with head coach Bruce Cassidy, remain overseas competing in the Olympics. Before practice, players gathered upstairs at the rink to watch the final minutes of Team Canada’s semifinal game — a moment that quickly turned into a proud one for the Vegas locker room.
Taylor Rocha reports from City National Arena:
Defenseman Shea Theodore, representing Team Canada, scored late to tie the game.
“Yeah, I watched, uh, walked in the rink and it was 2-0,” forward Keegan Kolesar said. “I was like, we’re fine, not a worry in the world, uh, you know, just gotta get Shea on the ice more, and look what happens.”
Most of the locker room had a rooting interest in the outcome. Only one American player was present on Friday, with the rest either representing Canada or having teammates doing so. Still, the support crossed borders.
“Yeah, we were all upstairs,” defenseman Kaedan Korczak said. “I was so glued to the TV…I think we all were, especially when they scored there late to tie it up, and we were all just so happy for them.”
While teammates continue to compete internationally — with Team USA and Team Canada set to meet for gold Sunday — the focus in Las Vegas has already shifted to the final push of the NHL regular season.
The Golden Knights have 25 games remaining in the regular season and open a five-game road trip Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings.
The challenge now is regaining rhythm after nearly two weeks away.
“When you’ve been off for 10 days, they have to work on everything,” assistant coach John Stevens said. “We have to get them acclimated again…get the execution back.”
Vegas went through a similar situation last season during the Four Nations break and believes it can build off that experience.
“We have a little bit of a template there,” Stevens said. “We thought we played well coming out of that break, so the challenge for us is to get these guys that are here ramped up to speed.”
As for the Olympians, they will return directly to the lineup. Managing their workload will be key with a condensed schedule ahead.
“It’s just a matter of getting them back to where they were,” Stevens said. “Just let’s get back to where we were.”
With playoff positioning tightening in the Western Conference, the margin for error is shrinking.
The international spotlight may continue through the weekend, but in Las Vegas, the push toward April is already underway.
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