With last night's shootout loss to Dallas, the Vegas Golden Knights are all but eliminated from the playoffs. Their only clinching scenario requires Vegas to win both games, and Dallas to lose both of theirs. Last night was a do-or-die game for Vegas, and they chose the latter.
The acquisition of Jack Eichel was supposed to carry the Golden Knights over the hump to the Stanley Cup, but instead they'll fall short of the postseason entirely, on the backs of some weak late season performances by their stars, and especially Jack Eichel.
Prior to last night, Eichel had only one point in his last five games, rarely even creating chances. In last night's season defining game, Eichel had a power play assist, four shots and six hits, but also had a disappointing effort on a crucial attempt in the shootout.
One criticism of Eichel from reports in Buffalo was that he never quite fit in to the locker room, and could be somewhat disruptive. After the heartbreaker loss to Dallas, hints of Eichel's dissatisfaction with the team showed. On the ice after the loss, he rolled his eyes and looks like he says to himself «f**k me».
Vegas may write off the season as lost to the injury bug, but with all their core pieces back and playing now, it's still extremely worrisome for Vegas to miss the playoffs. Eichel's easily-defeated attitude will need to change for him to be the superstar center they need to carry them to a cup.
