Stanley Cup Final blog: Zach Whitecloud

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud will be keeping his own blog throughout the 2023 Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers. He will check in regularly with behind-the-scenes access.

In his fourth entry, Whitecloud discusses the Golden Knights' Game 3 loss to the Panthers on Thursday and how they will spend their off day before Game 4 on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS).

Going into yesterday, we knew we had a big opportunity to put a bit of pressure on them in terms of the direction the series could go. Obviously, there is a big difference from 2-1 to 3-0, so we had a big opportunity that way.

Obviously, it didn't work out, but that's how the playoffs go sometimes. So we'll look at the things that we didn't do so well, but as a group we thought we played a really good hockey game and gave ourselves a really good opportunity of winning, and that's all you can ask for. Sometimes things don't go your way, so we'll look at the things we didn't do so well, today or tomorrow, and try to cut that one loose as soon as possible.

With the game being pretty late, I think it was an 8:20 or 8:30 start [Eastern time], and when it goes into overtime it goes a little bit longer, so we tried to get out of there somewhat quick and get back to the hotel and start to unwind.

A lot of guys have difficulty falling asleep after [a game] and there are different ways our staff can help remedy that. When you lose a game like that it wears on your mind a little bit, but for me, personally, I try to leave everything at the rink as best as possible [but that's] easier said than done.

RELATED: [Complete Stanley Cup Final coverage]

I believe if it affects you, that means you care. If it didn't affect you that much, it doesn't mean you don't care, it's just that some guys are easier at cutting things loose more than others. That doesn't mean they don't care, it just means they have more experience going through these scenarios.

Our group, having been in these [playoff] scenarios before, it's just one game and you'll able to look at the things you didn't do so well and the things you did do well, and the main message of the group is we played a really, really good hockey game and we gave ourselves a really good opportunity to win.

So after the game, try to get back, get some food in, rehydrate, do whatever you need to do to try to fall asleep. It's a new day today, and it's a chance to rest and get back at it tomorrow.

For these [off] days, I try not to have a schedule. We had our meeting and stuff this morning. For me, I try to sleep as long as I can because any chance to get some sleep during the playoffs is a good thing. Then come and get some food in you and get some treatment and whatever you need.

I'll probably get out and get some sun and try not to stay in the hotel all day, go out for a walk. I got lots of rest last night, so I don't feel like I need a nap, so I'll get out and do some things and be productive. I'll take the day and get away from hockey and come back refreshed for tomorrow.