DENVER — Jack Eichel needed just 79 seconds of overtime to send the Vegas Golden Knights back to the postseason. His snipe past Mackenzie Blackwood on a 2-on-1 rush gave the Knights a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Saturday, clinching a playoff berth for the eighth time in nine seasons.
Eichel gathered the puck after Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews missed the net on a 2-on-1, then carried it down the right side and beat Blackwood cleanly. “Great effort by our group,” Eichel said. “Our goal to begin the year was to get to the postseason, and here we are.”
The Knights (37-26-17) finished their final road trip of the season 3-0-1 and leapfrogged the Edmonton Oilers for first place in the Pacific Division with two games remaining. Goaltender Carter Hart made 30 saves in his best performance since joining the team. “All these games here down the stretch are meaningful,” Hart said. “Once we got our legs under us, I thought we pressured them hard.”
Captain Mark Stone scored his third goal in two games, and Pavel Dorofeyev netted his career-high 36th of the season. The Knights could have clinched earlier, but the Nashville Predators’ 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild meant Vegas needed a win over the NHL’s top team to secure the spot. Colorado (52-16-11) had already clinched the Presidents’ Trophy on Thursday.
The game was far from smooth. A penalty-filled first period gave way to a chaotic second, and Hart had to overcome two fluky Colorado goals — the first bouncing off his chest and in, the second hitting the post, then his back, then in. “We’re probably not there in overtime if it wasn’t for some of the tremendous saves by our goaltender,” Eichel said. “Credit to him.”
Colorado opened the scoring at 9:17 of the first when Toews’ point shot deflected off Hart’s chest and in. Stone tied it on the power play at 13:44, batting a deflected puck down and settling it before scoring. “It’s a seasoned group,” said coach John Tortorella, who improved to 5-0-1 since taking over March 29. “They don’t get rattled.”
