Eighty-two games are in the books. As Anakin Skywalker would say, this is where the fun begins.

The Golden Knights’ eighth regular season is complete after a 4-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The next time the Knights take the ice will be in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Their seventh playoff run in eight seasons starts against the Minnesota Wild in the first round, with Game 1 likely on Sunday.

“Good on the guys. They know how to win,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They like to win, and it showed again tonight.”

Right wing Pavel Dorofeyev scored his 35th goal of the season, left wing Victor Olofsson scored, and the Knights (50-22-10) completed a season sweep of the Canucks.

Center Jack Eichel also scored, and goaltender Akira Schmid made 16 saves.

Center Cole Schwindt also scored his first career goal, an empty-netter with 1:32 remaining.

Schwindt, 23, had seven assists in 41 games coming into Wednesday. The center was claimed off waivers from the Calgary Flames before the season.

“Just something so surreal to me, something I’ve dreamt of since I was a kid,” Schwindt said. “For it to finally come true and to share it with these guys, it’s definitely rewarding.”

The Knights completed their third 50-win season in franchise history, falling one shy of tying their franchise record of 51 set in both the 2017-18 and 2022-23 seasons. Their 110 points are one shy of the franchise record set in 2023.

They, of course, made the Stanley Cup Final in both seasons and won their first championship in 2023.

“That’s a quality year,” Cassidy said. “Proud of the guys. We played through different things. It wasn’t always perfect.”

Dorofeyev, defenseman Brayden McNabb and right wing Keegan Kolesar reached the 82-game mark this season. It’s the third straight season for McNabb, while Dorofeyev and Kolesar hit a full season for the first time.

Vancouver left wing Pius Suter opened the scoring 8:23 into the first period, but Olofsson scored his 15th of the season to tie it 1-1 at 18:33 of the second.

Dorofeyev, the 24-year-old who led the Knights in goals in his first full NHL season, gave them a 2-1 lead at 7:59 of the third. Eichel made it 3-1 on a deflection at 10:45.

This game wasn’t going to sway anything for the Knights, but there’s nothing wrong with putting a cap on what’s been a successful season.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Eichel returns

Eichel returned to the lineup after missing the past four games while recovering from an upper-body injury.

Eichel was one of five regulars to sit out of Tuesday’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames, but that was as a precaution. He returned to practice before the team left on the trip.

“Jack likes to be in a rhythm. He likes to play. He’s a competitor,” Cassidy said. “There’s always risk, but it was nice to see him get through the game and play well. Hopefully he’s better off for it in Game 1.”

Eichel ultimately fell short of the 100-point mark, but he capped off his best season with a career-high 94 points and 66 assists, both Knights records.

2. Regulars still out

Despite Eichel getting one more run before the playoffs, there were still some notables absent.

Captain Mark Stone, goaltender Adin Hill, defensemen Noah Hanifin and Zach Whitecloud, center Tomas Hertl and left wing Brandon Saad all got the night off.

The only notable absence was Whitecloud after blocking a shot with his hand Tuesday, but he ultimately played the remainder of that game.

“We’re so deep,” said defenseman Ben Hutton, who had two assists for his first points of the season in his 11th game. “I’m probably being biased, but for sure, I’d say we’re the deepest team in the league. Up front, back end, goalies, you name it. We’re deep everywhere.”

3. Playoffs are set

The NHL has one more day to go in the regular season, but all 16 teams have clinched their playoff spots.

The Montreal Canadiens wrapped up the final spot in the Eastern Conference with a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, eliminating the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The NHL announced that the playoffs will open Saturday with the two Central Division matchups: The Winnipeg Jets host the St. Louis Blues, while the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche rekindle their rivalry.

The remainder of the playoff schedule has yet to be released, but the Knights are expected to open Game 1 on Sunday. The time is still to be determined.

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