Hockey can be a strange game, on any given day. On any given day, there’s no telling what can happen. During an 82-game season, madness ensues. There is no crazier time in the NHL than the push toward the playoffs and the playoffs themselves. For the Vegas Golden Knights, the ability to clinch a playoff berth has been one point away, for the last three games. With the Minnesota Wild coming into town on Friday evening, the Golden Knights had yet another chance to officially clinch a playoff spot, coming off three straight losses.
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It has been a rough patch for the formerly white-hot Golden Knights. Upon acquiring Mark Stone at the trade deadline, they looked like a whole new club. The team compiled a 10-1-0 record since the deadline and looked like the new Stanley Cup favorites in the Western Conference. That was right up until the injury bug started to take its toll.
Starting with the most important position, Marc-Andre Fleury has been out of action since March 17th, with an undisclosed lower-body injury. It is also important to note that Fleury’s wife was pregnant and recently gave birth to their third child. Putting rumors to rest, Head Coach Gerard Gallant said, “I’m not resting players’ I'm making sure players are available.…
In number 29’s absence, the Golden Knights have relied solely on Malcolm Subban in goal. While Subban is a talented goaltender, he is not yet at the level of Fleury, nor is he expected to be. Fleury is one of the best goalies in recent history and that is a level of production that can’t be replaced by a backup, playing in his second season at the NHL level. Subban has played well enough for the Golden Knights to win games, but he is a bit of a downgrade from Fleury.
On top of the injury to their starting netminder, the Golden Knights had been without forwards Will Carrier, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and Max Pacioretty. All three men eventually made it back into the lineup, with Pacioretty slotting back in on Friday against the Wild for Bellemare who had "a small setback". All three men play pivotal roles on the team and their absence may have been a large factor of their three-game losing streak, coming into the Wild game. Speaking of a “wild… game, the Golden Knights would go on to lose a 3-2 decision to the Wild, effectively clinching their playoff spot.
Wait, what?
Yep, that’s right. With their loss, the Golden Knights clinched a playoff spot.
How?
With the fourth-place Arizona Coyotes hot on their trail, the Knights needed to either win or lose in overtime, to clinch a playoff berth. Now that did not happen. Instead, they lost their fourth game in a row, this time at home, in the T-Mobile Arena. Since they lost in regulation time, they were unable to clinch on their own. Despite losing another game, the Golden Knights were able to celebrate clinching a playoff position.
Still confused?
Cody Eakin stick-checking Nathan MacKinnon (USA Today Sports)
On Wednesday evening, the Golden Knights lost a road game to superstar Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche. With a win, they could have officially clinched their second-straight playoff berth. In a playoff race of their own, the Avalanche came out motivated, looking hungrier than the Golden Knights, and they won the game, backed by a strong performance in net by Philipp Grubauer. Fast-forward to Friday and the two teams became allies.
With a start time one hour before puck drop in Vegas, the Avalanche had a chance to knock off the team keeping the Knights from clinching. Although they would go on to lose the game, the Coyotes gave the Avs all they could handle, mounting a comeback and eventually losing in a shootout. MacKinnon opened the shootout with a goal and Grubauer shut the door on all three Coyote shooters on their way to the win. Grubauer’s final save was made just as the third period was starting in Vegas.
At the time of “their clinching…, the Golden Knights were down two goals. It’s uncanny that the team clinched a playoff spot, at the exact moment they were down two goals in a game. Making the situation crazier was the fact that the team that put them in the playoffs, was the one who would allow them to clinch just a game and two days prior.
Obviously, the Golden Knights did not want to clinch a playoff spot in that fashion. Before the game, Head Coach Gerard Gallant made it very clear; he wanted to win to clinch the berth. “I don’t want to have to count on someone else to lose for us to clinch. I want to count on us winning.… Unfortunately, winning is something that has been eluding the club lately. With just four regular season games left for the team, they need to get healthy fast and figure out how to get back to their winning ways. An impending playoff series with the ultra-talented Sharks is on the horizon and although the Sharks are struggling just as much, the Golden Knights need to right the ship, or they might sink in the first round.