Vegas Golden Knights fans were treated to the kindest gift on Monday night. They watched the Seattle Kraken take down the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.
I know it's hard to believe. But it happened. Behind two late first-period goals by Matty Beniers and Brandon Montour, Seattle handed the Kings their fifth home loss. Add a marvelous Joey Daccord performance (28 of 29 shots saved) and you put the division leaders in a better position.
Suddenly, they can close the division off as early as Thursday. Of course, that comes with a stipulation. You see, they must beat the Kraken and have the Los Angeles Kings lose to the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks aren't the best team in the world (obviously) and are coming off a back-to-back. It looks like Vegas should take care of business against Seattle, right?
Well, dear reader. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. This could be a theoretical trap game based on Seattle's 2-1 victory on Monday alone. A team that has nothing to play for can always be the spoilers. Nobody wants that, especially in Las Vegas.
Why the Vegas Golden Knights shouldn't sleep on the Seattle Kraken on Thursday
First, there's the obvious. The Pacific Division, while far from the Kings, isn't clinched yet. You must put in the work and beat the teams you're supposed to beat. Otherwise, what are you even doing in the NHL?
But there's also Joey Daccord, who's expected to start the game, according to Rotowire. If things change, that could be a bonus. The Golden Knights could get an aging Phillipp Grubauer in his place.
Still, what if Daccord starts? Well, he has a GAA of 2.46, a save percentage of .759, and a shutout in April. Mind you, that's with the seven-goal performance the Utah Hockey Club put on him on Tuesday. He's been tough to crack in net, using his puck-tracking and mobility to thrive.
But why should we still worry if Daccord doesn't start?
There are some players that you should watch for even if Daccord doesn't get the nod. For example, Jaden Schwartz (24 goals and 23 assists) has five goals and three assists in his last 10 games. He has 4.9 expected goals in that span, making him a dangerous player.
The same goes for Andre Burakovsky, who has four goals and six assists in 10 games. What's more impressive is that he was expected to score 1.7 goals in that frame. Perhaps the most impressive player has been Jared McCann, who has four goals and nine assists in 10 games.
So what's the point? The point is that the Seattle Kraken have seen a surprising uptick in scoring from key players. That could be problematic for a Vegas Golden Knights team looking to clinch the Pacific Division.
On the surface, they might not have anything to play for. However, the Los Angeles Kings learned not to take their opponent lightly on Monday. The Golden Knights might also learn that lesson the hard way if they're not careful.