The not-so-long national Knightmare has ended. The Vegas Golden Knights are in the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in their sixth year of existence.
Reaching the postseason is a goal for many teams. Fair or unfair, making it to the playoffs has become the expectation for the Golden Knights. That's what happens when a franchise advances to the final round in its first season.
Since then, every Golden Knights team has been judged through the prism of whether it could get back to the Cup Final -- and possibly win it all. It's what made last year's failure to make the playoffs so jarring, leading to many questions and the hiring of former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy.