The Vegas Golden Knights won their 50th game of the season and tied their franchise record for most points in a single season after defeating the Seattle Kraken 4-1 on Tuesday night. With the Edmonton Oilers defeating the Colorado Avalanche in overtime, the Golden Knights are still one point away from clinching the top seed in the Western Conference.
While the season series was tied 1-1 heading into this game, the Golden Knights won all four matchups against the Kraken last season and outscored them 16-7 for a combined 5-1-0 all-time record. This is a testament to how much better this Kraken team has gotten in such a short period of time.
The Kraken were riding a five-game winning streak heading into this game and recently clinched a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history. Despite finishing with the third-worst record in the NHL in their inaugural 2021-22 season, they made history again this week by officially putting together the biggest second-season turnaround by an expansion team.
Related: Kraken’s Complete Turnaround Has Them Into the Playoffs
What makes the Kraken’s story even more remarkable is that they’ve been able to have this incredible season without a definitive star on their team. Jared McCann leads the team in scoring with 40 goals and 70 points, and is one of their league-leading 14 players with over 10 goals this season.
Golden Knights Scoring by Committee
While all of the forwards played extremely well in this game, no line was more dominant than the line of William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, and Michael Amadio, who combined for eight points. Amadio had two goals and an assist in this game, making it his third-ever three-point night, while also surpassing the 15-goal mark for the first time in his career. Reilly Smith also had his first three-point night of the season with a goal and two assists.
Jonathan Marchessault’s 4-1 goal on the power play early in the third period was his 28th of the season, which put him ahead of Jack Eichel for the team lead. Marchessault also leads the team in power play goals with nine, which now places him second on the Golden Knights’ all-time list for most power play goals in a single season behind Erik Haula, who scored 11 in the 2017-18 season.
There were seven different players who ended up with a point in this game, and this offensive dominance didn’t come at the expense of their defensive structure. They outshot the Kraken 37-21 and allowed just four shots on goal in the third period. The Kraken are a dangerous team off the rush and the Golden Knights did a great job of denying their zone entries and forcing them to dump the puck in a lot.
Performances like this prove just how dangerous this Golden Knights team can be in the postseason. With these final games providing an opportunity to tune up their game and build good playoff habits, they seem to be putting everything together at the perfect time.
Golden Knights’ Injury Updates
With all four goaltenders nearing full health, Bruce Cassidy will have to make some crucial decisions over the next few days to determine what the official tandem will look like for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There’s a case to be made for each one of them to man the crease next week, but with there being such a huge momentum factor when it comes to goaltending, Laurent Brossoit has propelled himself to the top of the depth chart.
Brossoit allowed one goal on 21 shots in this game and has yet to lose in regulation this season, putting together a 6-0-3 record with a .921 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.44 goals-against average (GAA) since being called up in early February following a conditioning stint in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Captain Mark Stone was also seen practicing with the Golden Knights in a non-contact jersey on Monday morning as he inches closer to his much-anticipated return to the lineup. Stone was injured on Jan. 12 against the Florida Panthers and has been recovering from his second back surgery in less than two years. While his timeline to return is still unclear, this is a great sign that we could be potentially seeing him play as soon as next week when the playoffs are underway.
While Stone’s return was the main story from Monday’s practice, Eichel, Shea Theodore, Zachary Whitecloud and William Carrier were all absent from the skate. While Eichel and Theodore’s injuries haven’t been reported, it’s safe to assume that the Golden Knights are holding them out for precautionary reasons ahead of the playoffs.
While Whitecloud has been skating on his own as he deals with a lower-body injury he suffered on Saturday against the Dallas Stars, no updates have been provided on Will Carrier. He last played on March 3 against the New Jersey Devils and has also been dealing with a lower-body injury, but there isn’t any sign that he’ll be ready for the playoffs.
Final Thoughts
The Golden Knights will close out their regular season on the road tonight as they take on the Kraken once again, with the opportunity to set the franchise record for most points in a single season.
The chances of the Golden Knights securing the top seed are still high, but they aren’t completely out of the woods yet. If they lose tonight and the Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks, the Oilers would secure the top spot with them holding the tie-breaker of more regulation wins.
It’s rare that the outlook of the playoffs comes down to the final game, but the Golden Knights should be happy to have the opportunity to play in a high-stakes game before the playoffs begin. While it’s unclear what the lineup will look like, expect a high level of play from both sides as they get their final reps in before the postseason.