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Vegas Golden Knights steal No.1 seed, set up Blackhawks matchup in Round 1

By Andrew Steele-Davis

Brandon Saad #20 is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against the Edmonton Oilers during the first period in Game Four of the Western Conference Qualification Round. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
Brandon Saad #20 is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against the Edmonton Oilers during the first period in Game Four of the Western Conference Qualification Round. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images) /
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The Vegas Golden Knights now know their Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1 opponents.

After beating the Colorado Avalanche in Overtime in their final round-robin game earlier today, the Vegas Golden Knights became kings of the Western Conference.

And, as a result they will now face the Chicago Blackhawks in a Best-of-Seven series in Round 1.

Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are due to start on Tuesday, although the full schedule hasn’t been released yet with a Qualifying Round and a couple of round-robin games still to be contested.

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However, given that the St. Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars are both playing on Sunday, it is feasible to predict that the Golden Knights could be in action on the opening day of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Avalanche will now face the Coyotes, by the way.

For the Golden Knights, going a perfect 3-0-0 in the round-robin games and taking the No.1 seed is the perfect outcome for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, with the NHL reseeding the Playoffs after each round, the Knights will be in line for the more favorable matchups as the top seed.

Also, by running the table the Knights have built some momentum and are appearing to be hitting the peak of their powers at just the right time.

Watch out the rest of the NHL.

However, on the flip side, anything is possible during the Stanley Cup Playoffs and even more so given the crazy times we currently live in.

That was no more clear than this week when two No.12 seeds bounced a higher seed, with the Blackhawks seeing off the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens shocking the Pittsburgh Penguins.

While the better team should prevail over the course of a Best-of-Seven series, the Golden Knights won’t have it easy against the Blackhawks.

Yes, the six-time Stanley Cup Champions were sellers at the Trade Deadline and traded some pieces including Robin Lehner to the Knights.

But, that aside, they proved against the Oilers just how dangerous they can be after combining skill and size coupled with youth and experience.

Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews know what it takes to win and all three are huge for their team, while Corey Crawford is still a very good goalie when healthy.

While the Golden Knights win out in the depth department, the Hawks aren’t that far behind and the likes of Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat can provide secondary scoring.

Don’t sleep on Dominik Kubalik, either, who recorded six points (3 G, 3 A) in four Qualifying Round games, while rookie Kirby Dach also stood out with four assists in four games.

We’ll break down this series in more depth over the coming days but it should be an absolute doozy of a matchup.

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And we’ll also have more details on the schedule for this Round 1 matchup as and when they become available.

Get ready, Golden Knights fans, Playoff hockey is upon us.

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