The Golden Knights felt they were right there. Things just didn’t bounce their way.

Losing in five games wouldn’t normally make that a strong argument, but it’s valid.

The Knights never gained control of their series over the Edmonton Oilers, which ended in a 1-0 overtime loss in Game 5 on Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena.

They had chances to do so. They had a lead going into the third period of Game 1, then went to overtime in Games 2 and 5.

If one of those games flip in their favor, the Knights would have had a Game 6 to play Friday.

“The margin of victory and defeat is small this time of year,” center Jack Eichel said at the team’s end-of-season availability Friday. “Obviously, you want to be on the right side of it.”

If any team knows how the Knights are feeling right now, it’s the Minnesota Wild, whom the Knights knocked out in the first round in six games.

Minnesota had a 2-1 series lead after controlling play through the first three games. The Knights got the necessary bounces with overtime wins in Games 4 and 5 before closing the series in St. Paul.

But the difference is the Wild found ways to score goals.

The Knights, after right wing Reilly Smith’s buzzer-beater in Game 3 for their lone win of the series, went the final 127 minutes without a goal, being shut out in Games 4 and 5.

They were the fifth-highest-scoring offense in the league during the regular season (3.34 goals per game). They were held to 2.55 in 11 playoff games.

“Well, obviously, the scoring goes down in the playoffs, right?” Eichel said. “It’s tighter checking. Everyone’s willing to block shots. I think everyone’s more responsible defensively. It’s tougher to score goals in the playoffs, for sure. I think we all know that.

“It’s a bounce here and there, it’s a play here and there. It’s finishing opportunities. We just weren’t able to do it at the end of the day. It’s unfortunate you get shut out two games in a row. We need to collectively, as a group, find a way to produce that time of year and score goals.”

Bad timing

The Knights went into the postseason fully healthy, a rarity in the team’s history. Injuries piled up at the wrong time.

Leading goal scorer Pavel Dorofeyev suffered a muscular injury in Game 5 against Minnesota and missed the next three games.

Defenseman Brayden McNabb suffered an upper-body injury in overtime of Game 2 against the Oilers, one severe enough to where the Knights’ iron man was “definitely close to not playing.”

Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo missed Game 1 with a stomach illness, which he politely described as “not pretty.”

Captain Mark Stone didn’t play in Game 5 after a collision with Oilers right wing Corey Perry in Game 3 knocked him out for the final two periods.

Stone said he “didn’t feel comfortable to play, didn’t feel myself” after playing in Game 4.

“Obviously you get shut out the last two games, you’re not going to win that way,” Stone said. “But four of the games were decided either the last three minutes or overtime. We were right there. We just didn’t make the big play.

“You’ve got to give them some credit, too. I thought they did a great job buying into playing a tighter brand of hockey than they had in the past, I believe.”

Outside looking in

The Oilers will be playing in the Western Conference Final for the third time in four seasons. They await the winner of the Dallas Stars-Winnipeg Jets series, which Dallas leads 3-2.

Edmonton and Dallas met in the conference final last season. The Knights defeated both teams on their way to the Stanley Cup in 2023.

“Any time you get past that first round, you feel like you have momentum and a chance,” Pietrangelo said. “I feel like a lot of these games against Edmonton, we were in it. Could’ve gone the other way. Obviously, we didn’t get the job done. Anytime you don’t get to where you want to go, it’s frustrating.”

Stone said he still has belief that this core can make deep runs in the playoffs. Fifteen of the 23 players that were on the active roster are under contract next season.

The Knights may not run it back with the exact same roster, but they feel things would’ve been different this season if bounces went their way.

“I always feel we’re poised to go on a long run, starting in September,” Stone said. “I have full confidence we’re going to get back with a chance to win, so it’s always disappointing when you get eliminated whether it’s the first, second, third or fourth round. I still have tons of belief. I still think our core group of guys is still playing at a very high level.”

Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.