Golden Knights Playoff Hopes Dwindling
By: Emmet Kenney
The Vegas Golden Knights are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in team history. After a devastating 5-4 overtime loss to Vancouver on Tuesday night, the Knights sit 3 points behind Dallas in the final Wild Card spot and 3 points behind the Kings for 3rd in the division.
The Golden Knights have a game in hand against the Kings, but with the loss Tuesday night, the chances for the Golden Knights have dropped drastically. The teams that are ahead of them in the standings have some favorable matchups as the season starts to come close to an end, which means the Golden Knights might possibly have to win out to make the playoffs. The Golden Knights’ next two games are on the road against Pacific Division rivals the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers before coming back home for their last 3 home games of the season and finishing with a 3 game road trip.
This season could easily come down to the final game of the season with how tight everything is in the Western Conference playoff race. I think the cutoff for the playoffs is going to be 96 points. So with the Golden Knights currently sitting at 85 points, they will need to win 6 of their last 8 to make the playoffs. It is a daunting task that is very challenging, but with how this roster has been built with most of it back intact it is now or never to show that all of the offseason moves were the right decisions in making this team a contender. This could possibly be the most dangerous playoff team, but they have to do enough in their last 8 games to even get that opportunity to shine in the postseason.