The Vegas Golden Knights took care of business against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. They got a point in a 5-4 shootout affair. Sure, Calgary won. But one point has been secured. They had three first-period goals, with superstars such as Pavel Dorofeyev and Tomas Hertl scoring.
All that's left is the last regular season game against the Vancouver Canucks. There's nothing much left to play for aside from pride and seeing how the youngsters will do. For Bruce Cassidy's squad, it's a matter of resting your best players to get healthy. There's no point of playing Jack Eichel to try for 100 points, you know (especially since you can't do it now).
That ship has sailed for the Golden Knights. The Stanley Cup playoff field is set and it's time for Vegas to focus on its first-round opponent. They already have the second-most points in the Western Conference, which bodes well if they go on a deep run. Will it be the St. Louis Blues, who look problematic? Could it be the Minnesota Wild, who've fallen to one of the wild card spots?
Mystery is always a fun aspect in life. You don't know what you're going to get. That's especially true in the Stanley Cup playoffs, where anything can happen.
Believe it or not, the Golden Knights have a first-round opponent set in stone. No, it's not the Calgary Flames, who were eliminated from playoff contention. Instead, it's a team that's cold. They also claim to be the "State of Hockey."
The Vegas Golden Knights will play the Minnesota Wild in the first round
The Vegas Golden Knights will face off against the Minnesota Wild in the first round. The Wild clinched their playoff spot with a point against the Anaheim Ducks. In fact, they bested the Ducks in overtime, 3-2, getting them two points.
That's right. It's time to see Marc-Andre Fleury one more time. Send your love letters to Flower before he's gone, folks. The hockey gods cooked up something magical this postseason.
While the St. Louis Blues made a late push by demolishing the Utah Hockey Club, 6-1, it was meaningless. As a result, the Blues will face the Winnipeg Jets, i.e. the Presidents' Trophy winners.
So who are the Wild? Well, they're led by Kirill Kaprizov. The Russian winger has 25 goals and 31 assists in 40 games this season. He was out of commission with a lower-body injury. He's also accompanied by superstars such as Matt Boldy (27 goals and 46 assists) and Filip Gustavsson (2.57 GAA and a save percentage of .914).
How have the Golden Knights done against the Wild this season?
The Golden Knights swept the season series against the Wild this season. That consisted of a 3-2 road win on December 15, a 4-1 win at T-Mobile Arena on January 12, and a 5-1 road win on March 25.
In fact, Vegas is 8-2-0 against Minnesota in the last 10 matchups. It's a sudden turn of events that could dictate how the series goes. Will the Wild use that as motivation to overcome the snide? Or will the Golden Knights press the foot on the throat harder?
Believe it or not, the two teams have faced each other in the playoffs before. It was 2021 during the COVID season and the series went the distance. Of course, the last game was a laugher as the Vegas Golden Knights tripled up the Minnesota Wild, 6-2. Pete DeBoer displayed his masterclass of Game 7 wizardry as Mattias Janmark scored a hat trick.
Will we see deja vu? Or it is like Drew Carey said (allegedly)?
"Welcome to the Stanley Cup playoffs! Where anyone can win and the points (regular season) don't matter!"
The Golden Knights better tread lightly against a Wild team healing up. Having Kaprizov back will help the offense become a threat again and Gustavsson is dangerous when he's on point. Still, it's business as usual in Las Vegas. Time to sharpen those blades, gentlemen. Let's get to work.