Some people simply can’t handle Vegas.
If you have been there, you know.
If you have been there, and you don’t know, chances are you might be one of the some.
These folks tend to bet too much too often and don’t know when to end their losses before things really get out of hand. They start partying too hard too early in a city that never sleeps. They find out they just can’t hang.
While the playoff-bound Blues have not been escorted away from the blackjack table with only an empty wallet in hand, or been found sunburned to a crisp at the pool after one too many trips to the floating all-you-can-drink mimosa bar, they have displayed the most common side effect of a very Vegas problem.
They are full of hope when they hit The Strip. They are defeated and downtrodden when they depart, wondering how mistakes made in Sin City might negatively impact their future. It’ll change next time, they hope. If it doesn’t, the Blues’ 44th trip to the playoffs could be a brief one.
The Golden Knights this season have become the equivalent of an expired crab leg at the Blues’ Vegas buffet. Alex Pietrangelo, Ryan Reaves and their new pals cause upset stomachs and indigestion. They really know how to ruin a good time. And there’s a good chance they will be there waiting for the Blues in the first round of the playoffs. In Vegas.
Now some good news. That chance is a little bit less today thanks to the Avalanche beating the Golden Knights 2-1 late Monday night. A Vegas win would have locked up first place in the West for the Golden Knights, secured the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage through the playoffs. Instead the Avalanche kept the door open for a first-place finish. Colorado can claim the division and the Presidents’ Trophy by winning its final two games.
The Blues are locked in fourth place with a first-round date with No. 1. It’s a lot easier to like their chances against Colorado than Vegas. The Blues tend to get avalanched upon by the Golden Knights.
Vegas ranks first in the league in penalty-killing percentage (86.5%), second in the league in fewest goals allowed per game (2.22) and even-strength goals (148), and third in the league in goals scored per game (3.39).
And somehow the Golden Knights seem to get even better against the Blues.
Unlike the positive momentum against second-place Colorado the Blues created by beating the Avalanche twice to end the regular-season series between the two, the Blues’ final two meetings with the Golden Knights only added proof to what became a season-long trend. Vegas simply has the Blues’ number. Big time.
The Blues finished 2-4-2 against Vegas. Four of their losses came by three goals or more. The Blues scored 18 goals through the eight games. Vegas scored 34. Cut out Vegas’ empty-net goals and it was 32-18 in the Golden Knight’s favor.
At T-Mobile Arena, things got even worse for the Blues immediately after their shootout win way back on Jan. 26. The Golden Knights beat the Blues in each of the three games in Vegas that followed, outscoring them 13-5 in the process. Vegas scored first in each of those games, and in every game against the Blues except in the Blues’ lone home win on April 7.
I’ll be honest. There isn’t much of a silver lining to point toward. Just a lot of Vegas dominance. Such as . . .
— The Golden Knights’ 34 goals and 61 assists against the Blues resulted in a 95-point total that far exceeded what any other team to face Vegas eight times this season surrendered.
Minnesota, another playoff-bound team from the West, went 5-1-2 against Vegas while holding the Golden Knights to 66 points (24 goals, 42 assists). Eliminated Arizona went 2-5-1 against Vegas but held the Golden Knights to 60 points (23 goals, 37 assists) and only scored five fewer goals than Vegas in the regular-season series. You would feel a lot better about the Blues’ chances if they had numbers like that.
— The Golden Knights’ shooting percentage, 10.5%, is eighth-best in the league. It climbed to 11.5% against the Blues, meaning the Golden Knights were on target as often against the Blues as they were against the eighth-place Ducks. Blues goalie Jordan Binnington has a sub-3 goals-against average against every Blues opponent this season except for Vegas. His 3.50 goals-against average against the Golden Knights climbs to 4.11 at T-Mobile Arena.
— The Golden Knights outscored the Blues 28-14 during even-strength play this season. Doubled them up. Ouch.
— The Golden Knights’ dominant penalty killing limited the Blues to three power-play goals in 22 chances — and none in their final 14 chances over the final six games between the two. Sigh.
It might be best if a curse is called in. If the Golden Knights do win the Presidents’ Cup, they will have to try to become the first team since the 2013 Blackhawks to celebrate that accomplishment before winning the Stanley Cup. Yet even that dark magic might not be enough to slap the Blues out of their Vegas funk. Perhaps a voodoo priest could be found on The Strip? Come on, Colorado.
A season that sabotaged the Blues with injuries should not wipe from the mind the fact that it’s flat out wrong to write off a team spearheaded by coach Craig Berube, the gutsy Ryan O’Reilly and big-moment Binnington.
Seventeen players on the Blues’ roster know what it takes to win it all, meaning they know how little regular-season results mean to playoff success. The old adage says, and the Blues have proved it true in the recent past, that a team that can crack the field can go anywhere from there.
But as long as that first stop is Vegas, Blues bettors and believers alike are going to feel the urge to hedge.
