The good: Marc Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner combination
The Las Vegas Golden Knights turned heads this season by acquiring Robin Lehner from the Chicago Blackhawks, and it had some polarizing effects on the team. In fact, between opponents having a hard time scoring on either goalie or the presence of both making it hard to prepare for, the duo gave the Knights an edge when it came to the net.
Not only did this help the Knights run roughshod in the round-robin seeding round, but the duo also helped the Knights make a deep playoff run as well. Of course, Fleury and Lehner were finally neutralized by the Dallas Stars, who attacked the goal relentlessly, but this is still something to build upon in the next few seasons.
The bad: No fans allowed in attendence
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to many things in the first few months of this year, including sporting events. Fortunately for sports fans, the leagues designed a plan to ensure safe play and eventually resumed their seasons. The only problem? No fans allowed at the games.
Now, a few leagues were able to rectify this, but no such luck with the NHL. The playoffs took place in a bubble. Fans had to watch the Golden Knights playoff run play out on their television screens.
Every team that participated in the playoffs had this problem, which makes this a bad note for the entire league, but it just kind of hurt more as a Vegas fan.
The ugly: Losing in the semifinals
How do you go from being one of the most dominant teams in the regular season to getting blown out in the semifinals of Stanley Cup playoffs? Seriously though, the Golden Knights literally went 39-24-8, and had an 8-2 record heading into the playoffs. The team also recently acquired Robin Lehner, who added a whole new level of defense to their game.
It wasn t mean to be, however, as the Golden Knights dominated the first couple of rounds of the playoffs but lost 4-1 to the Dallas Stars in the semifinals. Not only was the loss a huge vibe killer, but it was also another dark chapter in the history of a franchise that has fallen short of the mark more than once.
In the end, the team navigated rough waters all season, especially with Fleury having a drop in performance and Max Pacioretty being in rehab, but it wasn t enough to finally get them to that elusive first title. Hopefully, that all changes next season and the knights will finally hoist the Stanley Cup by the end of next year.
