That was objectively a surprisingly successful playoffs. No one was really expecting us to knock the defending champs out. And we did. Expansion haters developed nervous ticks that a Vegas / Seattle conference finals was a possibility.
Then we stood toe-to-toe with a team that can play any sort of game. A team with an often dominant goaltender, an all-world defenseman, and forwards they can mix and match for pure offense, fast break, and/or ground and pound style games. We withstood Pavelski's insane puck tipping barrage and pushed them hard for 7 full games. A puck bouncing over a stick at the worst moment and a last second rebound that went a little too wide to put home is a ridiculously thin margin.
And we did it missing Burakovsky.
We should be proud. Beniers looks like a rookie who will be a star in this league quickly and for a long time. Kartye came out of nowhere and looks like he might be a gem. The future looks promising.
It'll be a different team next year. But this team is ahead of schedule for the plan of building through the draft. Other than Beniers, there were no significant pieces from the draft.
See you all next season.