“Expectations are not being met” – Bruce Cassidy DRILLS Jack Eichel to level up his game as injuries plague Golden Knight lineup


<strong>“Expectations are not being met” – Bruce Cassidy DRILLS Jack Eichel to level up his game as injuries plague Golden Knight lineup</strong>

Bruce Cassidy and Jack Eichel [Image Credit: The Washington Post/Las Vegas Review]

Vegas Golden Knights are not in a good position as of now, as their core players are still missing from the team roster. Jack Eichel, the center for the team recently noted that he’s been doing what he can, but it’s not just him, everyone is training and going out on the ice with the right mindset.

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His reply was in accordance to coach Bruce Cassidy’s comments on Eichel’s performance. According to Cassidy a lot of players are currently missing from the lineup. In the last few games, he has seen many of his players becoming passengers to the game, not drivers.

Cassidy has pinned his hope on Eichel who he believes can grow further and has not yet shown his true capability after coming out of the injured reserve. Their recent records put the behind the Seattle Kraken in the Pacific Division.

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Jack Eichel states that he knows he’s performance is not up to the mark

Jack Eichel [Image Credit: Fear the Finn]
Jack Eichel [Image Credit: Fear the Finn]

The team has unfortunately lost the last 4 of 5 games as they prepare to host Washington Capitals on Saturday. After the team’s 2-3 loss against the Detroit Red Wings, the Golden Knights are carrying a score of 28-16-2 whereas the Red Wins got 19-17-8 points. 

After tier recent loss in a post-game interview, coach Bruce Cassidy noted, “Jack just hasn’t been the same driving force for us as he was at the start of the year on both ends of the ice”. 

“The expectations are not being met from Jack. He needs to be better for us especially as we’re down a few guys that create offense for us. He needs to be one of the drivers.”

Jack Eichel’s last three games have been disappointing, as for now, he is going on with a score of 34 points in 33 games played with 15 goals and 19 assists. Team captain Mark Stone’s absence from ice is heavily felt as the players struggle with their performance.

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Cassidy further commented, “(I) think we’ve had passengers lately, guys that we rely on that need to be better,” Cassidy said. “Timely save tonight could’ve made a difference. So I wouldn’t put (Thursday’s loss) on one element, but getting outworked in key situations, key times in the game, putting ourselves in bad spots was probably the start of it.”

“As I said, we need better from some of our players that we rely on. And just to sort of expand on that, we went through injuries a little while ago. We came through it OK. Our effort was good. We had no passengers.” Eichel himself acknowledged that he hasn’t been his full self in the last few games and is continuing to improve.

He said, “There’s gonna be ups and downs throughout the course of a season. Nobody plays 82 games straight perfectly. It’s frustrating; we want to be better. But, you know, we learn from these games and figure out what you need to do better as a group”.

“I think I probably already put enough pressure on myself as is. And I’m sure all the other guys in here would say the same. Everyone has the right mindset, we all want to step up and help the team win, and we’re all in this together.”

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