ANAHEIM, Calif.— Christmas couldn’t have come at a better time for the Knights, who were already limping into Wednesday’s late-December disaster. The idea was that three full days off would rejuvenate the group who had lost three straight games by decisive margins heading into the holiday.

And it was a fine idea in theory. Reality was a bit different. The Knights offered their lowliest first period effort of the season, falling behind 4-0 in the opening stanza in large part due to Logan Thompson’s continued shortcomings in net as he fights his way back to full health.

Wednesday’s game certainly gave credence to the idea that Thompson should remain on the bench until both his body and mind are back in championship form. It’s clear the version that has been in net for them sparingly the last few weeks isn’t the Logan Thompson that the Knights need to have in tow.

The injury bug has hit both Golden Knight’s goaltenders within the previous 10 days, with Adin Hill also attempting to nurse his way back to full strength after suffering a lower-body injury last week. Henderson Silver Knights goalie Jiri Patera in turn has gotten some action with the big league club, and likely will see some more play this week.

Anaheim scored four of their five goals on Thompson in the first period. Brett Leason, Jamie Drysdale, Frank Vatrano and Troy Terry each tallied goals in the first for the Ducks.

Alec Martinez and Mark Stone each notched second period goals for the Golden Knights in the loss. Vegas cut the Anaheim lead to 4-2 in the second period before Brett Leason’s second goal of the evening served as the proverbial dagger to the Knights comeback hopes.

The Golden Knights are back at home on Wednesday night, with puck drop against the Kings scheduled for 7 p.m. local time at T-Mobile Arena.