Marchessault and Karlsson are looking good though. If they don't find their way by December then I either declare them rigged or James Neal was a very valuable player for them they should've given more money to.
Neal was too often not a difference maker for that to be true. People are too quick to make snap judgments that ignore the whole picture.
I don't know what it is but the Knights look sluggish and unfocused. It started in the Finals, looked to have gotten better in preseason, but now it's back to the same issues.
I think a few things are at play
1.) The defenders are rusty, particularly Miller and McNabb and Merrill shouldn't still be on the team. I'm giving a little benefit of the doubt to Holden given his partner is Merrill but I'm running out of patience with him.
2.) I don't know what it is, but the team in general doesn't look as fast and well conditioned as they were last year. This needs to be addressed in season since training camp apparently wasn't good enough.
3.) I think a lot of teams spent a good amount of time watching video on this team because a lot of their tricks that worked last year are more easily anticipated. This is another thing I thought started in the Stanley Cup finals.
4.) The Knights are hitting the post A LOT. I know this seems like an easy excuse but through 4 2/3rd games, the Knights have hit a ton of posts and I wouldn't be surprised if they're gripping the sticks a little tighter as a result.
5.) Not having Schmidt, Tuch, and Stastny seems to be translating into rough going for Vegas.
In any event, it's way too early to count Vegas out. People don't seem to remember that Vegas wasn't exactly a well oiled machine in their first ten games. They got by through hard work and good goaltending but they were pretty sloppy in the early days. They should be more familiar with each other by now, but I believe Gallant can turn the ship around.