Vegas, you blew it, you could've played an easier team against the Oilers, but you lost to the freakin' Ducks of all squads to play against a very well-oiled machine. Their losing streak towards the end does not give me a lot of confidence, especially since Hill hasn't been the same since returning from injury akin to Woll. I am not counting out the Knights because I could totally see them winning this series, but I have the Stars winning in six games. Dallas' depth seems too good at the moment for Vegas to try and defend against and the sloppiness of Vegas from the games I watched is a recipe for doom. I do think we are seeing the Cup-winning condensed off-season finally come up and catch Vegas because it does not outrun anyone - Lightning was able to make the finals three years in a row due to the shortened COVID seasons (full believer in that).
There are too many unknowns that are affecting Vegas while you have the Stars who know who's their starting goaler, they know their shutdown defensive pair, and they know the lines they will need to roll. When you already found the chemistry and puzzle pieces to get home ice for the Western Conference, then there are very few questions that need to be asked since everyone knows their job and their role. I can see Vegas suffering from a lot of shuffling around to find some chemistry or something to work against the Stars well-structured team.
There are too many unknowns that are affecting Vegas while you have the Stars who know who's their starting goaler, they know their shutdown defensive pair, and they know the lines they will need to roll. When you already found the chemistry and puzzle pieces to get home ice for the Western Conference, then there are very few questions that need to be asked since everyone knows their job and their role. I can see Vegas suffering from a lot of shuffling around to find some chemistry or something to work against the Stars well-structured team.