LAS VEGAS, N.V.– There were two vastly different scenes at opposite ends of the ice at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday night.
At one end, the Carolina Hurricanes were the physical embodiments of relief and joy. After Nikolaj Ehler hit the empty net to give them a 3-0 lead, the visiting bench came alive. And after the final horn blared, gloves hit the ice as the players swarmed towards their net to mob their goaltender.
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At the other end, the Vegas Golden Knights could only watch as their opponents celebrated the accomplishment of a dream they spent all year chasing. As the final seconds ticked off, the despondent home team made their way towards their own net to console goaltender Carter Hart.
After the final handshake line of the season, the Hurricanes stayed on the ice to lift the Stanley Cup and celebrate with their teammates and families. The Golden Knights saluted their fans before trudging off to their locker room; once inside, the emotional scenes continued.
“It’s not a good feeling right now,” said defenseman Brayden McNabb. “It’s tough to be on this side of it… These chances don’t come around very often. It stings.”
Looking back, the last time that the Golden Knights were in control of this series was heading into the third period in Game 3. They held a 4-0 lead over the Hurricanes and looked to be firmly in the driver’s seat.
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What followed was 12 periods of hockey in which they were outscored 16-6. While they managed to survive blowing that four-goal lead in Game 3 thanks to a flukey game-winner from Shea Theodore in double overtime, they did not manage another win.
There aren’t any statistics to explain why the Golden Knights’ good fortune expired. But for the next three games, everything that went right for them over the course of this Stanley Cup run went wrong. Every ounce of luck disappeared, and every bounce went against them. It was as if the hockey gods stopped smiling down on them.
“We just didn’t capitalize on our chances,” said Mark Stone. “We had a lot.”
Throughout the trials and tribulations of the season, one thing remained remarkably consistent for the Golden Knights: no matter what the scoreboard read, they were never out of a game.
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You can attribute a lot of that ‘Goonies never say die’ attitude to John Tortorella, who preached the importance of having the right mindset and raved about the group’s mental toughness. But Tortorella didn’t take the wheel until March 29th— by that point, the Golden Knights were battle-hardened by the grind of a season where they hadn’t yet lived up to expectations.
“Wild year; crazy year,” said defenseman Brayden McNabb. “[I’ll remember] how we pulled it together and got here. We came together as a group late in the year. Torts came in and did a great job, did a hell of a job. We battled, battled our asses off this whole playoffs, and we came up short. It’s going to sting; it’s going to haunt us. We’re proud of how we got here and how we played; unfortunately, it just wasn’t good enough.”
Tortorella came in and pressed all the right buttons, reinvigorating a tired group and getting them to this point. The fact that they ran out of gas just before reaching the finish line doesn’t take away from the run that they had.
“I don’t think you ever really expect it to be over,” said Mark Stone. “We always believed that we were going to figure things out and get things back in the right direction. And we did that– I’m not so sure many people thought that this team would be here competing at this time of year.”
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There’s no way around it– the Golden Knights players are devastated by tonight’s loss. And, really, after the run they just had, how could they not be?
“This feeling sucks,” agreed Captain Mark Stone. “I never want to have it again. When I look at everything that happened throughout this season, all the ups and the downs, to give ourselves a chance, and to play in the Final is pretty impressive. But it doesn’t make things better right now… It kills me inside that I’m standing here right now.
“I’m thinking about how proud I am of the group with everything we went through this year to get here,” continued Stone. “I’m proud of every single guy who stepped foot in this locker room this season… It’s unfortunate that it came to an end in the wrong way.”
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But despite the obvious heartache, this team is far from beaten. They know their window to win is still very much open. Even mere minutes after coming up just short, they’re already thinking about another chance to win the Stanley Cup next season.
“Just getting to this point, you realize what it takes to win and how hard it is,” said defenseman Noah Hanifin. “We’ll regroup, and we’ll get back at it.”
Head coach John Tortorella, whose contract expires this summer, didn’t comment on whether he wanted to return.
“I haven’t even [thought about it],” said Tortorella. “I’ve got to swallow this a little bit.”
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