Playoff hockey at T-Mobile Arena is all but a formality at this point.
The Golden Knights are inching closer to their seventh postseason appearance in eight years after sweeping their three-game road trip this past week. The Knights are also playing some of their best hockey down the stretch. They’re 12-3-2 since the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the third-best record in the NHL behind only the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars.
“You never want to get ahead of yourself, but I said last week I thought we were trending really well,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We’re certainly closer to the top of the scale than the bottom, especially our overall game.”
The Knights couldn’t have asked for better results on their road trip.
Yes, two of the three teams they beat — the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators — are out of the playoff picture. But the Knights lost to both those teams earlier this season. Getting those two wins shows how locked in they are at the moment.
“Nice to get a good string of wins here, and hopefully we can keep the momentum riding into the playoffs,” goaltender Adin Hill said.
As good as the Knights’ road trip was, they’re hoping it results in a lot more home games in the playoffs.
The team entered Sunday with a nine-point lead over the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers for first place in the Pacific Division. The Knights’ 98 points were also the second-most in the Western Conference behind only the Winnipeg Jets (104).
The team has five road games and four home games left in the regular season before the playoff bracket is set. There’s still a lot at stake for the Knights in that span.
Playoffs in sight
This week is an important one for the Knights.
They get some playoff tune-ups at home against the Oilers on Tuesday and the Jets on Thursday. The Knights should also be on the verge of clinching their playoff spot, if they haven’t already, by the time the puck drops for their game against Edmonton.
They’re 17 points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks, the first team out of the playoff bracket at the moment.
A win Tuesday would also give the Knights 100 points in a season for the third time in franchise history. The first time that happened, in 2017-18, the team went to the Stanley Cup Final in its first year of existence. The second time, in 2022-23, the Knights won it all.
Division within reach
It would take a lot for the Knights to not win the Pacific at this point.
The Kings have lost two straight in regulation. The Oilers were in a 1-2-1 slump before Saturday’s overtime win over the Calgary Flames.
That means Los Angeles and Edmonton are likely to square off in the first round of the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. The Knights would then face the Western Conference’s top wild-card team.
That spot belongs to the Minnesota Wild, who have 87 points in 74 games and are trying to hang out without superstar Kirill Kaprizov. But the St. Louis Blues, winners of nine straight, have 87 points in 75 games and are on the verge to taking it.
The race between the Wild and the Blues is one the Knights should be paying attention to. Whoever wins it is probably flying to Las Vegas for the first game of the playoffs.
Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
