Daily Nuggets: Golden Knights Control Division; Oil Spill, Rat King

Good morning, everyone. The Vegas Golden Knights play an early game on Saturday in Nashville against the Predators; if they win, they may have clinched a playoff berth by the time they play their next game. The Golden Knights have won five in a row and are one of the hottest teams in the league.

Elsewhere in the Daily Nuggets, Brad Marchand made his Florida Panthers debut. The Philadelphia Flyers are dealing with the aftermath of firing their head coach, John Tortorella. The Edmonton Oilers are dropping like flies, and Sportsnet highlights a few teams that will get expensive reinforcements come playoff time.

Golden Knights News

The Golden Knights didn’t play their best game on Friday, but they escaped Chicago with a 5-3 win and two points in the standings. Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato recorded his first career hat trick; Victor Olofsson responded with two goals of his own. The Golden Knights have a problem– but it’s a good one.

A little over a week ago, I made a few predictions about how the regular season will end for the Golden Knights. And, boy, some of these are aging poorly. But two of them are on track to age very, very well.

On that note, the Golden Knights are running away with the Pacific Division and have an 86% chance to claim their fourth division title in eight years. If they win the division, they’ll face the first wildcard team in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. As of March 29th, it looks like that team will be either the Minnesota Wild or the St. Louis Blues. 

The Athletic ($): The Golden Knights are one of the hottest teams in the league since the trade deadline, with a 6-2-2 record. They move up two spots on the Athletic’s power rankings and sit at number four.

Golden Knights Prospects News

The Denver Pioneers bounced Golden Knights prospect Trevor Connelly and the Providence Friars on Friday with relative ease. Connelly didn’t record a point in the 5-1 Pioneers win, but he was very noticeable. His vision and playmaking skills are extremely impressive; the Golden Knights have something special with him.

In the OHL Playoffs, Golden Knights prospect Trent Swick led the Kitchener Rangers to an overtime 4-3 victory over the Flint Firebirds. He scored twice and recorded an assist on the overtime game-winning goal. Swick was named the first star of the game.

In the QMJHL Playoffs, Golden Knights prospect Matthieu Cataford scored a hat trick. His Rimouski Océanic beat the Charlottetown Islanders 6-2 and took a 1-0 lead in the series. Cataford was named the first star of the game.  

NHL News, Rumors, & National Hockey Now

Sportsnet: The Stanley Cup Playoffs are less than a month away, and quite a few teams will be well over the cap when game one comes around.

Sportsnet: Speaking of injuries, they keep piling up for the Oilers. Already down Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Mattias Ekholm, they lost Stuart Skinner in a 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. He didn’t travel with the team to Seattle on Thursday– only time will tell if the Golden Knights will see him on April 1st. With all these injuries in mind, fans should temper their expectations for this season.

The Athletic ($): Following Minnesota’s loss to UMass in the 2025 NCAA Hockey Tournament, prospect Jimmy Snuggerud signed his entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues.

Florida Hockey Now: Brad Marchand made his Panthers debut on Friday. He made an immediate impact and recorded the primary assist on Sam Bennett’s overtime game-winning goal. As he left the ice, he collected a few rats.

Philly Hockey Now: When the Flyers beat the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, they did so with only five defensemen. Cam York was benched for “disciplinary reasons.” York reportedly got into a verbal altercation with former head coach John Tortorella, contributing to the Flyers releasing Torts.

Chicago Hockey Now: Friday’s game between the Golden Knights and the Blackhawks meant different things to each team. For the Golden Knights, it was an ugly win marred by sloppy play. For the Blackhawks, there was no shortage of positives to take away from the 5-3 loss.

New York Islanders Hockey Now: Let’s check in with the Eastern Conference playoff hunt. The Islanders are a dark horse to make the postseason, but they still have a shot.