No one ever willingly thinks back to 2021. Not with a global pandemic controlling the world and all.
The Vegas Golden Knights would probably like to erase that year from existence for multiple reasons. Chief among them was squandering an opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup.
The road to get there was one of the more adventurous — but also forgotten — runs in Knights history. That included a second-round series against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.
Sound familiar?
The Knights and Avalanche will meet in the playoffs for the first time since that memorable second-round series five years ago, this time in the Western Conference final starting Wednesday in Denver.
Seven players on the Knights’ current roster remain from that series triumph.
“That’s five years we’re talking about,” center William Karlsson said. “Sheesh.”
Quick refresher: The 2021 season was shortened to 56 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It started three months after the 2020 postseason resumed in a bubble in Canada.
“I had COVID for some of that series,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “That’s what I remember.”
The NHL modified the divisions that season to accommodate travel restrictions and make it geographically easier for travel.
The Knights and Avalanche, playing in the Honda West Division, tied for the most points during the regular season. Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy by way of tiebreaker.
Colorado swept the St. Louis Blues in the first round, while the Knights eliminated the Minnesota Wild in seven games to set up a matchup that would have been better suited for the conference final any other year.
Not this one.
The Knights nearly let their series against the Wild get away. They led 3-1 after winning Game 4 in Minnesota before losing the next two. Former winger Mattias Janmark’s hat trick in Game 7 cemented the 6-2 win.
It looked like the Knights felt the residuals in Game 1 with a 7-1 loss at Ball Arena. The Avalanche played their first game in a week, and it showed with five unanswered goals.
“They got some high-end players over there,” McNabb said. “That was always the key.”
Robin Lehner allowed all seven goals, and the Knights went to eventual Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury the rest of the series.
Fleury made 22 saves, and the Knights put up a better showing in Game 2, but Mikko Rantanen scored 2:07 into overtime off a controversial slashing penalty on Reilly Smith for a 3-2 win and 2-0 series lead heading to T-Mobile Arena.
It was the first time the Knights, to that point, had ever lost the first two games of a playoff series. Uncharted territory for a team having that much success.
“There’s so many stories like that,” winger Keegan Kolesar said. “It’s just guys who have been there for that long and know what it’s like to play int hat environment
The good bounces went the Knights’ way in Game 3. Jonathan Marchessault’s bank shot below the goal line tied it with five minutes left, and Nick Holden’s point shot was deflected by Max Paciorrety 45 seconds later for a 3-2 win.
Marchessault followed with a hat trick in a 5-1 win in Game 4 to even the series.
In Game 5, Colorado took a 2-0 lead late into the second period off goals from Brandon Saad — yes, the very one — and Joonas Donskoi.
The Knights answered with goals from Alex Tuch and Marchessault within three minutes to tie it 2-2 early in the third period.
That set the stage for Mark Stone’s first playoff overtime winner 50 seconds into the extra frame to give the Knights a 3-2 series lead back to Las Vegas.
“No matter what the outcome may be in the series, we found out it’s not over until it’s over,” Kolesar said.
The back-and-forth Game 6 saw the Knights grab a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes thanks to Alex Pietrangelo’s goal with 18 seconds left in the second.
William Carrier added an insurance goal midway through the third, and Pacioretty sealed it with an empty-netter with 3:10 left.
“We played well as a team,” McNabb said. “We took care of the neutral zone and scored big goals at big times. A lot of guys stepped up throughout that series.”
It’s not like the Knights need to draw on that experience from a series five years ago, but it was the first time they learned they’re never out of a series.
But the similarities are there. The Avalanche are the top team in the league again. They’ve gone 8-1 in the playoffs. The Knights are significant betting underdogs in this series.
“It’s nice to have that in the luggage,” Karlsson said. “It ain’t over until the fat lady sings.”
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Golden Knights at Avalanche
What: Western Conference Final, Game 1
When: 5 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Ball Arena, Denver
TV: ESPN
Radio: KFLG 94.7 FM/KKGK 1340 AM
Line: Avalanche -185; total 6
