Vegas Golden Knights Playoff Hopes Are Diminishing

The Vegas Golden Knights have never in their four-year existence missed the playoffs. With the multiple key player injuries they have sustained this season, that streak could end. Take in the fact that from the start of the season through January they collected a respectable 26-16-3 record. That equates to a .61 points percentage. Since February 1st, the team has gone 9-12-1. That points percentage comes in at .43. The main reason for this drop in performance is due to injuries. When a team loses two of its offensive stars PLUS their starting and backup goalie, that’s not a good sign. It means the Vegas Golden Knights playoff hopes are diminishing.

Injuries Are Decimating the Vegas Golden Knights Playoff Hopes

Losing Mark Stone for the last 20 games has not helped their cause. He has been out since February 9th and it doesn’t look good that he’ll return anytime soon. He was placed on long-term injury reserve and that means his injury is major. Up until his injury, he had eight goals, 20 assists in 28 games. That point per game pace is difficult, if not impossible to replace. The other factor is he is the captain of the team.

Then, Max Pacioretty went down and hasn’t played since March 11th. His injury length is unknown so he may be placed on LTIR also. That may help relieve some of the cap issues the team created by trading for Jack Eichel and his $10 million salary. What it could do is leave space for Alec Martinez to return. He has only played in 11 games this season due to a severe facial laceration when he took a skate to the face.

With both “Patches” and Stone out of the lineup that creates much more lack of offence that even Eichel can’t help to replace. His 13 points in 19 games help but the Golden Knights need their two offensive stars to return soon, or the playoffs could be in jeopardy. They are also without Reilly Smith who has been out since March 10th on injured reserve. His 16 goals, 22 assists in 56 games is also decreasing the Golden Knights offence.

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Then, There Are The Goalie Injuries

So, you lose some forwards and hope that others can step up. But, what if you lose your starting goalie AND your backup? Then, things get seriously dreadful. Robin Lehner has been out nine games and in that span, the Golden Knights have gone 3-6. Oh yeah, in those nine games the team has been outscored 33-26. They also lost two consecutive games without scoring compliments of the Minnesota Wild in a 3-0 shutout followed by a 4-0 whitewash from the Winnipeg Jets.

Logan Thompson was called up from the AHL Henderson Silver Knights to fill the net. Considering the circumstances, he has done an admirable job. He has a 4-4 record with a 2.76 goals-against-average and a .918 save percentage. Laurent Brossoit has an undisclosed injury so his status is up in the air. He has a 10-9-3 record with a 2.90 GAA, and a .895 SV%.

The extent of Lehner’s injury is still unknown, but if he’s lost for the remainder of the season, that could severely hurt the Vegas team’s playoff hopes.

Breaking Down The Playoffs Race

The Vegas Golden Knights playoff hopes are lessening when you consider they only have 15 games remaining. They have six home games and nine road games remaining. They trail (as of this writing) the Dallas Stars for the last wildcard spot by only one point, but the Stars have four games in hand. The Stars also have 11 home games and eight road games left on their schedule.

Don’t count out the Winnipeg Jets or even the Vancouver Canucks either. The Jets trail the Stars by three points and have eight home as well as road games left. The always inconsistent Canucks are just four points back in the WILD wildcard race in the West. They have nine home and seven road games remaining.

When a playoff race is this tight, head-to-head competition can make a world of difference. The Golden Knights do not play the Stars or Jets any more games, but do face the pesky Canucks three more times. These games become four-point affairs in the standings. Vancouver faces the Stars two more times, so you can see how tight things may get.

The Jets will need to do it on their own, as they don’t face the Canucks or the Stars for the rest of the season.

The Vegas Golden Knights playoff hopes are in their hands and they must perform to get there. Can they do it?