The Hamburglar may have just put the dagger in Vegas' season

The Vegas Golden Knights came into tonight's game against the New Jersey Devils three points out of the final Wild Card playoff spot in the Western Conference with only five games remaining afterwards. They left T-Mobile Arena in the same position.

The Devils defeated the Golden Knights by a 3-2 final score thanks to 42 saves from goaltender Andrew Hammond, who turned in his best performance of the season. It also happened to be his first victory as a member of his new squad, having been acquired earlier in the season from the Montreal Canadiens. 

The tie-breaking goal was scored by New Jersey's Andreas Johnsson in the third period, and they also got goals from Jesper Boqvist and Nathan Bastian. Meanwhile, Keegan Kolesar and Chandler Stephenson scored for the host Golden Knights, who saw their postseason chances take a serious blow. 

The reaction immediately afterwards by Vegas captain Mark Stone, who was appearing in his first home game since February 1, says it all: 

The good news at least for Vegas is that it appears as though the Dallas Stars will lose to the Vancouver Canucks tonight at Rogers Arena; Dallas currently occupies the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. 

Vegas is back in action on Wednesday night at home against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in a rematch of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final. They'll have to do everything possible to win their remaining games while hoping they get help from other NHL clubs in the process if they want to avoid their first non-playoff season in team history. 

Can they do it? We will soon find out.