How poetic that the Vegas Golden Knights have destiny in their hands in game 82 of 82.
On Wednesday, the stakes reach their highest point yet when the Golden Knights close out the regular season against the Seattle Kraken.
Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, NV
Date: Wednesday, April 15
Time: 7:00 pm PST
How To Watch: ESPN+, SCRIPPS
Radio: 1340 AM, 94.7 FM
With the Anaheim Ducks losing to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, the Golden Knights are guaranteed home-ice advantage for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, the Pacific Division needs the Golden Knights to secure only one more point to guarantee the fifth division crown in nine seasons, locking a first-round series with the Utah Mammoth. A regulation loss could shift things in a different direction, however, potentially leading to dates with the Ducks or Los Angeles Kings instead.
Everything is on the line, and the Golden Knights will do everything in their power to push themselves over the finish line.
A fitting end
How apropos that the final roadblock for the Golden Knights in the Pacific is one of the teams they have struggled with.
The Kraken are one of only two Pacific teams the Golden Knights have failed to beat so far this season (the Ducks are the other), and all three games so far have been decided by only one goal. The only time Vegas has yet to win under John Tortorella was against the Kraken on Apr. 9, falling to them in a shootout loss. Finally getting one over on their expansion brethren would be a massive relief for the Golden Knights, who are hoping to keep riding a surge of momentum into the postseason.
Nine lives
There will be no memes about Jack Eichel this season, who is getting hot at the right time.
On Monday against the Winnipeg Jets, Eichel secured his first power play goal of the season on the second half of a double minor by Mark Scheifele. It was the cherry on top of an excellent night for Vegas’ leading point scorer, who notched his fourth four-point game of the season to push his total to 88 (the second highest of his career after 2024-25). Eichel has lead the way with 13 points in 8 games since Tortorella arrived in Vegas on March 28, and that will continue to be the case if the Golden Knights spark a deep playoff run.
Trending upward
Eichel has not been the only player who has seen an uptick in production since Torotorella took over.
Four players outside of Eichel (Mark Stone, Mitch Marner, Ivan Barbashev, Rasmus Andersson) have been operating at a point-per-game pace or better in the eight games under the new head coach. Carter Hart has also gone on his best stretch in the same span with a .925 save percentage and 1.80 goals against average, the latter of which is top-10 in the league in that time. Several players getting hot at the right time is exactly where the Golden Knights want to be right now, and others finding their way on the board against Seattle will make their wagon even more difficult to slow down.