The Vegas Golden Knights wrapped up the second half of their schedule Saturday night with a 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators. It was the 29th home win this season for Vegas, tying the mark set in the inaugural 2017-2018 season.
The game had a lot of things to leave the fans at the Fortress in a deep state of appreciation. It also had a wibbly wobbly flow that would be much less welcome once the playoffs start next week. Here are my three takeaways from an entertaining (mostly) Saturday Knight at the Fortress.
Fourth Pacific Division title in team history clinched with a dash of drama
After the second intermission, it appeared the Golden Knights were set to cruise toward their fourth Pacific Division title in team history against a Predators team that had managed only 10 shots in the first 40 minutes. But in the first 3:56 of the third period, Jonathan Marchessault and Marc del Gaizo took advantage of the lull in the Vegas defense to tie things up. For the next 15+ minutes, it looked like said lull would slightly spoil "Fan Appreciation Knight." Then, like a supernova, along came Noah…
🚨 THE GOAL THAT WON THE PACIFIC 🚨 pic.twitter.com/bh5A8UcPSw
— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 13, 2025
It was Hanifin’s first goal in the last 15 games. The goal also marks his fourth season as a pro with 10 or more goals. With the division firmly in hand, all that’s left to find out is if a gritty Minnesota Wild team who won at Vancouver in OT earlier or a tough St. Louis Blues that lost its third in a row.
A snakebit power play finally strikes courtesy of a snakebit winger
The last time the Vegas Golden Knights scored on the power play was March 29th at Nashville. The last time Alexander Holtz scored in a Vegas uniform was January 2 at home to the Philadelphia Flyers. Saturday night, in that explosive three-goal second period, the two circles of the Venn diagram crossed thanks to a tidy pass by William Karlsson.
It was the kind of pressure and slashing attack on the power play that Vegas have had trouble sculpting for most of this month, including on the first two power play chances Saturday night. This is good momentum to start to build back with Calgary and their 25th best penalty kill on the horizon Tuesday night. As for Holtz, the relief on his face after the goal says it all.
Slow start in the third period nearly dooms Vegas
I mentioned it a little bit earlier, but it bears repeating. Vegas was thoroughly in control, up 3-1 in the third period. There was no excuse to come out as messy and frazzled as they did in those first five minutes of the period. It wasn’t till the midway part that the Golden Knights got going again defensively, which was also when the offense started to wake up. That’s the kind of thing you can get away with against a Nashville team, not so much Winnipeg, Colorado, or even St. Louis.
Next on the Marquee:
It's one last trip to Calgary Tuesday night to take on the Flames at 6 P.M. There isn’t much here to hype about this game, outside of seeing their fancy defensive prospect Zayne Parekh possibly in action. If not, there’s at least Nazem Kadri, who’s usually good for some entertaining hockey. There’s also the chance of another OT game like the last time Vegas was in the Saddledome. Until then…