How the Colorado Avalanche can help the Golden Knights clinch a playoff spot on Saturday

The Colorado Avalanche are in a great position right now. After defeating the Calgary Flames on Thursday, 3-1, they officially lay claim to being the President's Trophy winners for the 2025-26 season. Certainly, all that sounds good for the Avalanche, right? You've had the opposite of what the Vegas Golden Knights have had this season: consistent success.

However, there's a catch to this: no President's Trophy winner has won the Stanley Cup since 2012-13. Mind you, the Chicago Blackhawks did this during that season, boasting superstars like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. However, that was a strike-shortened season, so it has a bit of an asterik to it.

For the full season version, you'd have to go back to 2007-08, when the Detroit Red Wings won the President's Trophy and the Stanley Cup. This was Sidney Crosby's first foray in the Stanley Cup Final, where his team ultimately fell short of glory.

This bit of history should give the Avalanche some leeway in resting their starters for Saturday's matchup against the Golden Knights. After all, what else do you have to play for? If you dig deeper, that would be great news for Vegas, heading into Saturday's colossal matchup.

The Vegas Golden Knights' pathway to clinching a playoff spot gets easier with the Avalanche resting its players

Believe it or not, all the Golden Knights need are two points to clinch a playoff spot on Saturday. That comes with a win against the Avalanche, who don't have anything else to play for, as mentioned. Of course, this can also be done by regulation losses from Nashville and Winnipeg, along with any loss by San Jose. However, it'd be nice to win in Colorado to get one more win against a playoff-position team.

This is also done by getting one point in Saturday's game while Nashville and Winnipeg suffer losses of any kind. However, the preferred method is winning in Denver, a la long-term thinking. That way, Vegas can have as much home-ice advantage as possible.

That's where the "resting your starters for the playoffs so they don't get hurt" angle comes into play. If Colorado does proceed with this strategy, it will make life easier for Vegas for many reasons. That begins with the most obvious of them all: worse talent on the ice. You'd go up against the Colorado Eagles stars or replacement players, leaving John Tortorella to have a field day.

In turn, that would give Tortorella a chance to load up his lines in late-game situations. Don't be surprised if a line consisting of Mark Stone, Mitch Marner, and Jack Eichel gets rolled out to put the pressure on Colorado. The new head coach doesn't hesitate to leave opposing teams on their heels, especially when Vegas has a lead.

If Colorado does Vegas this one small favor for Saturday night, it'll mean all sorts of "golden" opportunities before hoeading home to close the season out. Normally, getting help from your opponents sounds weird. But in this case, it's a realistic possibility.