Daily Nuggets: Golden Knights Get Hertl Back, Mailbag; More Canucks Drama

Good morning, folks. The Vegas Golden Knights are off on Friday before playing their final home game of the regular season on Saturday. On Thursday, they beat the Seattle Kraken 2-1 in a low-event defensive clinic. Most notably, Tomáš Hertl drew back into the lineup for the first time since March 23rd.

Elsewhere in the Daily Nuggets, the drama continues with the Vancouver Canucks when a longtime Canuck admits he likely won’t be re-signed. Two teams staved off elimination from playoff contention with a win but could see their seasons end while idle. Team Canada named a general manager for the 2025 IIHF World Championships.

Golden Knights News

Adin Hill is ready for the playoffs. On Thursday night, he saved 2.48 goals above expected and backstopped a 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken. William Karlsson scored his second goal in as many games and the penalty kill shone. My analysis here:

After missing nine games, Tomáš Hertl returned to the lineup on Thursday. Before the game, he spoke with the media about how happy he was to be back.

At long last, the battle for the Pacific Division is winding down. The Golden Knights are one win plus a Los Angeles Kings loss of any kind away from clinching their fourth Pacific Division title in eight years.

Let’s do a little Q&A. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are less than two weeks away; beyond that, there’s the NHL Entry Draft and Free Agency. If you have questions, comments, or concerns about the Golden Knights’ season, playoffs, etc, please submit them to the Vegas Hockey Now Mailbag.

Golden Knights History: On April 11th, 2018, the Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup Playoff game, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 1-0.

The Athletic ($): No playoff team is perfect or without a reason to believe. Shayna Goldman and Harman Dayal explain why every Western Conference playoff team has hope and why they should panic.

Playoff Clinches & Eliminations

The Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers staved off elimination with wins. They both live to fight another day.

Teams that can be eliminated from playoff contention on Friday: Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders, New York Rangers

Teams that can clinch a playoff berth on Friday: Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens

NHL News, Rumors, & National Hockey Now

Sportsnet: It’s not every day that you see a player directly say they won’t re-sign with their current team. On Thursday, Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks said exactly that.

Sportsnet: With the regular season coming to a close, Ryan Dixon compiled a list of every NHL team’s MVP. For the Golden Knights, it’s the elite two-way center, Jack Eichel.

The Athletic ($): Let’s look around the league at some of the most significant advanced analytics. Dom Luszczyszyn breaks down David Pastrnak’s singlehanded dominance, Lane Hutson’s case for the Calder, and gives Brayden McNabb some love for his defensive metrics.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: While 16 teams head to the postseason, select non-playoff team players will be able to represent their countries at the 2025 IIHF World Championship. Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas was officially named GM for Team Canada.

New York Islanders Hockey Now: What can the losing team say after a 9-2 loss? Kyle Palmieri found the words and said the team “didn’t play with pride.”

Montreal Hockey Now: Playoffs come first, but Free Agency is rapidly approaching. The Canadiens desperately need a second-line center to play with Ivan Demidov, and Marc Dumont came up with a list of options.

NHL History: On April 11th, 1971, Bobby Orr became the first defenseman since 1922 to record a hat trick during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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