What Went Wrong: Pawns

I will never figure out why the Vegas Golden Knights are always high Stanley Cup favorites, even higher than the Avalanche. "But they won in 2023," you'll say. Yes, they did, but that Cup is sandwiched by some embarrassing playoff defeats. I said this before about playoff streaks and stretches: they can be good, but only if there's depth. For the most part, the Golden Knights' exits have been quite shameful.

Now, I am not counting the first year. That was their first year and they still made the Final. No shame there. However, plenty of shame in Year Two. Blew a 3-1 series lead, led 3-0 in Game Seven, then the dumb major penalty, four PP goals against, and they lose in OT. This is followed by back-to-back Final Four losses (the second of the two against a Canadiens team running on good vibrations), and then, missed the playoffs in Year Five. Yes, Year Six was the Cup year, but after that, a first round exit after trying to skirt the LTIR system.

So how does Year Eight treat the Golden Knights? Well, they barely survive a banged-up Minnesota Wild team to advance to Round 2 against the Oilers. They lose both home games, and then they win Game Three solely because of an own goal by Leon Draisaitl. Even so, that should give Vegas momentum, right? Not really. All that happens is Vegas getting shutout. Twice. By a team with the worst goaltender issues in the league.

I ask again: How is this team one of the heaviest favorites in the league every year? The final 127:14 of the Golden Knights season saw the team unable to score on Stuart Skinner. And yeah, while Skinner does have his moments, he's one of the shakiest goalie in the league. Even worse, technically, Edmonton won Vegas' Game Three for them. So really, it was a five-game sweep.

Regarding stats, Mark Stone (the LTIR king himself) led the team in goals with four, which represented half of his eight points. William Karlsson, Tomas Hertl, and Reilly Smith each had three goals, and regarding Smith, he was credited with the Draisaitl own goal in Game Three. The overall points leader for Vegas during this run was none other than Jack Eichel, who finished with 10 points (G/9A) in 11 games. Regarding goaltending, Adin Hill was in net for all 11 games played, going 5-6 with a 2.93 GAA, but finishing with an .887 SV%. Yikes.

So the Vegas Golden Knights become the ninth casualty in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the first one in the Elite Eight. Don't get me wrong. Are the Golden Knights good? Yes. Are they good enough to win a Stanley Cup? Yes--they proved that two years ago. Should they be considered next year for a possible Cup run? Yes. But should they be favored ahead of teams like the Avalanche, Maple Leafs, and Hurricanes? Hell no. Vegas is good, but they will find ways to lose to just about anyone. The fact that they got shutout in back-to-back games by a goalie with more question marks than the Oilers have Stanley Cups? That's a huge red flag. Even crazier: they can't beat Corey Perry--this is the third time in their eight year existence that they've been eliminated by a team with Corey Perry on it. Wow. Vegas should have quite an interesting offseason following this short playoff run.

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