Vegas Golden Knights Head To Playoffs, Clinches Division Title
The Las Vegas Golden Knights were able to secure the Pacific Division title after taking home a 3-1 win against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday.
The teams played in Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. This is the third time that VGK has won the division title after missing it for the first time last year.
Reilly Smith had the first goal. But according to ESPN, the puck didn’t touch his stick blade. A pass from the Kraken’s Vince Dunn bounced off Smith’s skate, making the puck slide pass Philipp Grubauer. This was the 26th goal for Smith this season, making this the second highest goal total of his career.
Alec Martinez scored another goal, which put VGK back in front. Martinez was able to sneak a shot past Grubauer.
Chandler Stephenson then made an empty-net goal, which secured the 3-1 victory.
According to the VGK’s post-game article, Laurent Brossoit made 30 saves on 31 shots. Jaden Schwartz made the first and only goal for the Kraken.
This win means that our Golden Knights will face the Winnipeg Jets during the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“. . .A lot of people counted us out; we always believed in this group,” Smith said during a post-game press interview. “When you get into the playoffs, people dry up, scoring gets a little harder. So when you have scoring by committee and so many guys stepping in to block shots and keep the puck out of our net, it goes a long way, and I think that’s what we’re expecting out of this group.”
Game 1 will be on Tuesday with game 2 being scheduled for Thursday.
“We haven’t won anything yet,” Martinez said during his post-game interview. “We faced a fair amount of adversities this year.”
Since the Golden Knights won, you can use code VGKWINS on PizzaHut.com for 31% off menu-priced items!
🎥 Cassidy: We got the division crown which I thought was well-earned. pic.twitter.com/TIPSy4mbUU
— x-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 14, 2023
