‘Wasted Season’; Golden Knights’ Campaign Ends in Heartbreak

On Wednesday night, the Vegas Golden Knights suffered a heartbreaking end to their season. On the brink of elimination, they locked down defensively and took the Edmonton Oilers to overtime. But try as they might, they couldn’t solve Stuart Skinner.

“We didn’t score in the last two games,” said Golden Knights forward William Karlsson. “That was the difference.”

At 7:19 in overtime, the Oilers finally solved Adin Hill, ending the Golden Knights’ season.

“[Adin Hill] gave us a chance to win tonight,” said William Karlsson. “I’m bummed that we couldn’t score one. He had a hell of a game.”

Heading into Game 5, the Golden Knights trailed 3-1. Despite having home-ice advantage, they began digging their graves early and dropped the first two games of the series. The Oilers were far and away the better team in Game 1, but Game 2 was a close affair that ended in heartbreak.

“[In Game 2], when we killed that five-minute major, we had to find a way to win that game. We needed to leave here with a split,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy. “We needed to get the goal in that game. That would get it back to square, and going back to Edmonton, it’s a three out of five… That was the game that we needed.”

After winning the Pacific Division, this Golden Knights team seemed destined for a deep playoff run. The potential of what might have been hangs over the Golden Knights’ locker room like a dark cloud.

“Any time you have a good team, you feel like you didn’t finish what you set out to do,” said defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. “We’ve got a hell of a team and a hell of a locker room. It’s disappointing.”

“Every year you don’t win feels like a year wasted,” said William Karlsson. “I believed in this team.”

FOR MORE GOLDEN KNIGHTS NEWS AND UP-TO-DATE COVERAGE, VISIT VEGAS HOCKEY NOW AND LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.

FOLLOW US ON 𝕏:

@VegasHockeyNow
@h_kirk6