from Adam Proteau of The Hocke News,

After blowing a lead and eventually losing to the lowly San Jose Sharks in a shootout Sunday, the Vegas Golden Knights hovered where they’ve been for a while now – on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture, looking in.

With three regular-season games left for them, the Golden Knights are six points behind the Los Angeles Kings (who have only two games left) for third place in the Pacific Division. Vegas also trails the Dallas Stars by three points for the second wild-card berth in the West, and the Golden Knights trail Nashville by four points for the first wild card position.

Although there weren’t a majority of hockey analysts who projected Vegas to be the best team in the West, it’s also fair to say analysts believed the Golden Knights would be a playoff team. And now that it’s looking likely they’ll miss out on the post-season, the Golden Knights’ assignment of blame has to include more than just one single target.

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