After making it look easy in the NHL playoffs this year and steamrolling their way to a dominant and convincing Stanley Cup victory, it might be difficult to remember that last year at this time the Vegas Golden Knights were on the outside looking in. While they were still a pretty good season in 2021-22 (43-31-8, 94 points), they still fell three points short of making the post-season.
At this point, that’s long been forgotten and for good reason with the tremendous 2022-23 that ended up on the top of the mountain. But this example, much like the eighth-seeded Florida Panthers, gives the teams that didn’t make the playoffs this season that the distance between missing it and making it back can be **that close**.