The playoff system in North American sports can be a bit peculiar. Games are played for six months straight to decide which teams enter the gauntlet of eliminating half of them every two weeks. What works in the regular season doesn’t always work in the postseason and because of it, different heroes emerge while others fail.
We’ve always said people that build their roster, well, there’s regular season players that function well, and there’s playoff guys that emerge, so you’ve got to have a balance of both. -Bruce Cassidy
For the Golden Knights, many of the best players from the regular season fell flat in the playoffs and it’s a big reason why they aren’t still playing today. Meanwhile, a few stepped forward and showed their impact on the biggest stage.
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William Karlsson
The Vegas folk hero, built on his unbelievable Season 1 performance, coupled with a Stanley Cup speech that will live forever, had a bit of a troublesome regular season. He played the fewest games of his VGK career, starting in just 53 and his statistics suffered because of it. He finished the year with just nine goals and 29 points, each by far the lowest since he arrived in Vegas.
But, when the playoffs began, his game took off. He has always embraced the role of a shutdown center and he succeeded in that well against both Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy in the first round and then Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the second. It was his line driving ability that really shined as the playoffs went on, though. He was called upon to help Jack Eichel and Mark Stone get out of a funk and then he was asked to push games forward for the Golden Knights without either superstar as a linemate later. He was unbelievable in Game 3, Vegas’ only win in the Edmonton series, and he was a huge reason why Reilly Smith was able to step right back in and succeed again with the Golden Knights. There wasn’t a more valuable player in the postseason for the Golden Knights than #71, and only Eichel was even remotely close.
Alex Pietrangelo
It should never be surprising to see a grizzled two-time Stanley Cup winner up his game in the playoffs, but after the rocky regular season, Pietrangelo’s stellar postseason was a sight for sore eyes. Along with Karlsson who posted a +5 rating, Pietrangelo (+1) was one of only four Golden Knights to post a positive rating in VGK’s 11 postseason games. He played the most minutes of any skater, was crucial in Vegas’ stellar playoff penalty kill, and he even chipped in multiple goals and six points.
Entering the playoffs, there was a question of whether or not Pietrangelo would be able to return to something close to the 2023 version of himself that led the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup. Battling through injuries and impossible matchups, he didn’t quite live up to that level, but he was far better than expected, especially when compared to his teammates around him. He once again earned the coaches trust as the most important blue liner on the roster and he lived up to it once again.
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Ivan Barbashev
When the Golden Knights acquired Barbashev from the Blues one of the biggest selling points was that he’s a playoff-type player. That proved to be the case in 2023 when he scored seven goals and added 11 assists for 18 points in 22 games. However, his numbers outside of that playoff run leave room to question if that was an anomaly. This year he scored just one goal (albeit an OT winner) and tallied one assist while firing just 14 shots on goal in 11 games. This now pushes his career playoff record, excluding the 2023 Cup run, to 4 goals and 11 assists in 68 playoff games.
He was not the physical presence Vegas expected in this playoff run and his forechecking abilities never really put either the Wild or the Oilers on edge. He was demoted to the 4th line on multiple occasions during the playoffs because he wasn’t as effective with Eichel and Stone as they were early in the regular season. He ended the postseason with a -9 rating and was on the ice for five goals against and zero for against Edmonton. As much as 2023 was a year to remember for Barbashev, 2025 was one to forget.
Shea Theodore
Theodore’s regular season was derailed a bit by the wrist injury at 4 Nations that kept him out of the lineup for 15 games, but when he was on the ice he posted the best offensive regular season of his career. His 57 points and 50 assists were both career highs, he had 19 power play points, and the pairing with McNabb was Vegas’ most consistent during the regular season.
Then, the playoffs hit and things went a bit haywire. Game 2 against Minnesota was one of the worst individual performances by any Golden Knight in a single-game and Theodore’s defensive game seemed to deteriorate as the playoffs continued. McNabb suffering an injury did not help the case, but Theodore’s decision-making and exit ability did not help the Golden Knights against an offensively dangerous Edmonton. He was on the ice for eight goals against at 5-on-5 in just 97 minutes against the Oilers and he sunk under the responsibility of starting more than 50% of his shifts in the defensive zone for the first time in his career. Oddly enough, Theodore wasn’t particularly great in the 2023 Cup run, so it’s not the first time he’s struggled in the playoffs, but this year’s run was troublesome considering he’s clearly on the path to becoming VGK’s #1 defenseman moving forward as Pietrangelo’s career fades.
