Nam Y. Huh / AP
Chicago Blackhawks center Tyler Johnson, right, scores against Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson to win the shootout in Chicago, Wednesday, April 27, 2022. The Blackhawks won 4-3.
Published Wednesday, April 27, 2022 | 8:16 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, April 27, 2022 | 9:58 p.m.
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As the Golden Knights went to overtime, the Arizona Coyotes almost came through for them.
It was too little, too late, however, and Vegas will be watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs from home for the first time after losing 4-3 in a shootout to the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on Wednesday.
The Golden Knights’ fate was already determined as their shootout approached the seventh round. The Dallas Stars clinched the league's final postseason berth by going to overtime against the Coyotes, despite Dallas squandering a 3-0 third-period lead.
“It’s obviously going to be a lot of time for reflection,” forward Max Pacioretty said. “At this point, it’s kind of out of the players’ control, but you’ve got to expect that when a team underperforms the way we have this year, all bets are off.”
The Golden Knights' 3-2 shootout loss to Dallas on Tuesday and the blown two-goal lead Sunday against San Jose add up to 0-for-17 in the shootout over the last three games.
“I feel bad for our goalie,” said coach Pete DeBoer of Logan Thompson after he made 37 saves Wednesday and stopped 14 of 17 in the shootouts this week. “He did a great job in the shootouts, giving us a chance. How do you explain that many good players don’t find the net? I don’t have an explanation for it.”
The Golden Knights needed two wins and two regulation losses from Dallas to make the playoffs. Despite Dallas having the easier of the gauntlet with Arizona and Anaheim, the message over the past few weeks from Vegas was controlling all it could control.
While the Golden Knights found ways to win during April, teams around them also won. The Los Angeles Kings won four straight games by defeating teams they were expected to beat. The Stars and Nashville Predators secured points when they needed to.
The Golden Knights will look back on the past month and a half and realize they did not take care of business. Injuries played a factor: Team captain Mark Stone missed 45 games with a back injury that evidently is not fully healed (one assist in eight games since being activated from LTIR). Pacioretty has six points in the last nine games, but he missed 43 games with various injuries including a broken foot suffered in the second game of the season.
There’s also Robin Lehner, who carried the Golden Knights through the first two months without Stone and Pacioretty, only to succumb to knee and shoulder injuries over the final month and a half, with the latter requiring surgery.
“A lot’s being said and made of the injuries we’ve had, but at the same time, we have such great depth that we expect to at least get into the playoffs with that adversity,” Pacioretty said. “It’s a tough pill to swallow right now, and it’s going to take some time to digest, because right up there until the end, I never lost hope in thinking we were going to make it.”
At the end of the day, in a league that’s heightened more on results than any other league, the Stanley Cup contender on paper failed.
Vegas hoped that the acquisition of Jack Eichel in November would be able to bridge the gap before Stone and Pacioretty returned fully healthy. While Eichel should be commended for scoring 22 points in 32 games after not playing for nearly a year and coming back three months after neck surgery, he only produced one point in his last six games.
The Golden Knights traded a protected first-round pick in this summer’s draft, along with Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs, to Buffalo for Eichel. The Sabres will have two lottery picks this draft unless Vegas' selection falls within the top 10.
There’s also a power play that underperformed once again and will finish in the bottom-third of the league at season's end.
“I believe in what we have,” Pacioretty said when asked if this group should have another chance next season. “On paper, what can anyone say we’re missing? We have it all. But at the same time, hard work beats that talent on paper. I believe in this group.”
The Golden Knights will close their season Friday in St. Louis, but the attention already turns to an offseason filled with numerous questions, from the front office on down. Vegas will, once again, spend an offseason figuring out its salary cap logjam, all while solving how to re-sign its free agents and how to build a competitive roster for next season while cap compliant.
Where the blame is placed after the most disappointing season in five years, however, can be up for debate.
“I’m surprised, I’m disappointed. I’m at the front of the line for responsibility,” DeBoer said. “There’s a lot of expectations on this team. It’s not an easy thing, and it doesn’t feel good for anybody right now.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
