A month ago, the Henderson Silver Knights were the proverbial disappointing little brother of the Vegas Golden Knights. They were 18 points out of a playoff spot, leaving no hope of turning their season around. They were like the younger sibling who dropped out of high school to hang out with their... bad buddies. They were bad and not in a tough-guy way.
In fact, they sent Grigori Denisenko to the AHL Skills Competition as their representative. Mind you, he's scored 10 goals and 14 assists in 42 games this season. Those numbers aren't All-Star worthy unless you're replacing somebody in the event.
But there seems to be a change in the air for the AHL club. It's not coming from the sewers, either. The team is cranking up their play with 24 games left entering Sunday. Some people wrote them off from doing anything in the Calder Cup playoffs. Maybe that's changed, though. Perhaps they look... better?
On January 16th, the Silver Knights were 18 points out of a playoff spot
— Brian McCormack (@BrianJMcCormack) February 16, 2025
On February 16th, they will be 7 points out.
With 24 games remaining, the HSK are making it very interesting in the Pacific. https://t.co/Ui1VKS5IeV
Yeah, it's an interesting concept to consider. But Gage Quinney (six goals, 18 assists) and the Silver Knights could actually make the playoffs. The forward scored in the shootout on Saturday, leading to a 5-4 victory over the Tucson Roadrunners (beep beep!). How are they pulling this off?
How are the Henderson Silver Knights doing this?
But Saturday's game has a deeper story. They were down by two goals in the third period. It looked like another disappointing loss for the little brother of the Golden Knights. You know that feeling when you've been hit in the gut hard numerous times? That was the case before Cal Burke scored an unassisted goal with 10:33 left to cut the lead to one.
Gage Quinney tied the game with less than a minute remaining, swinging the momentum back to the Henderson Silver Knights. He followed that up with a shootout goal, where he was joined by Matyas Sapovaliv and Jakub Brabenec. Suddenly, this team is feeling more confident and better about themselves.
Yes, the record of 19-27-2 (40 points) is largely underwhelming. It indicates a team that shouldn't be competing for a playoff spot in any capacity. However, Quinney isn't the only superstar leading the charge for the little brothers. In fact, it's become an all-out effort led by players like Carl Lindbom (2.73 GAA, .914 save percentage in 21 games) who've championed the cause.
Can the Silver Knights pull this off?
Crazier things have happened in our world. I mean, did anybody expect three fights to happen in nine seconds of Saturday's 4 Nations Face-Off match between the United States and Canada? Nobody expected the Golden Knights to make the Stanley Cup Final in their first season, yet here we are.
Going back to the minor league club, they do have an uphill battle for a playoff spot. Aside from Sunday's game against those same Tucson Roadrunners, they will also face tougher games. That includes matches against teams currently in playoff contention, such as the Milwaukee Admirals, Coachella Valley Firebirds, Colorado Eagles, and San Jose Barracudas.
There's no doubt the gang will have their work cut out for them in the upcoming months. But being seven points out of a spot will provide more confidence to a team looking to do the impossible. After all, they can look to the big brothers for inspiration on how to defy the odds and make a huge run.