Golden Knights Clinch Playoff Spot

The Vegas Golden Knights have clinched a trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs before they even stepped foot on the ice Thursday. With the Pittsburgh Penguins defeating the Nashville Predators 2-0, the Golden Knights are now mathematically confirmed to make the postseason.

The Golden Knights are the first team from the Western Conference to clinch a spot in the postseason. In the East, the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, and New York Rangers have all clinched.

This marks the fifth time the Golden Knights have made the postseason and the first since they missed out on the playoffs last year. The Golden Knights have played in twelve playoff series in their short history and have managed to win eight of those series.

The team has lost in the Conference Finals twice, in 2020 to the Dallas Stars and in 2021 to the Montreal Canadiens. Their furthest run in the playoffs came in their inaugural season, where they lost in the Stanley Cup Final in five games to the Washington Capitals.

Jack Eichel and Logan Thompson will get their first taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and head coach Bruce Cassidy has achieved his first goal as the VGK's new head coach.

The Golden Knights have six players on their team that have won a Stanley Cup Alex Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez, Phil Kessel, Chandler Stephenson, Ivan Barbashev, and Jonathan Quick.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin on April 17, with the VGK having eight games remaining in their regular season schedule up until then, including their 7:30 p.m. game against the San Jose Sharks tonight.