The final days of a regular season always tend to get a little crazy. Playoff spots or seeding are often on the line and matchups take center stage as teams scramble to position themselves favorably for the postseason. Individually, players are chasing down personal benchmarks or records and trying to achieve nice, round numbers. For the Vegas Golden Knights, though, that seems to only be the tip of the iceberg amidst what has been a wild home stretch in their Stanley-Cup-title-defense season.
With so much happening both on the ice and off for the Golden Knights, this seems like the perfect space to recap some of the madness of the past week or so:
April 8 – Tomas Hertl Debuts
When Vegas acquired star center Tomas Hertl at the trade deadline from the San Jose Sharks, the return of prospect David Edstrom and a 2025 first-round pick seemed a relatively low cost for the 30-year-old two-time 30-goal scorer. While his long-term contract may have had something to do with his trade value, the lower-body injury that had forced him to injured reserve probably also contributed.
As of last Monday, Hertl is healthy and ready to contribute to a deepening Golden Knights center corps. To date, he already has two goals and an assist in four games while centering Chandler Stephenson and Pavel Dorofeyev. Knowing that the playoffs are imminent, head coach Bruce Cassidy didn’t exactly ease him into the fold, giving the Czech forward more than 20 minutes of ice time in a Vegas debut that came nearly two and a half months after his most recent game.
April 11 – Noah Hanifin Signs
Speaking of acquisitions from the Golden Knights’ busy trade deadline, the club showed that they clearly liked what they had seen thus far from blueliner Noah Hanifin. Vegas locked up the pending unrestricted free agent before he could hit the open market, signing the 27-year-old to an eight-year, $58.8 million contract.
My colleague, Erik Cruikshank, covered Hanifin’s new contract extension and what it means for Vegas in-depth, so I won’t delve too deep into it now. Importantly, though, the signing locks up all the remaining prime years of a defenseman who projected to be one of the most in demand free agent targets come July 1. Hanifin should continue to perform at a peak level even while the club’s older rearguards, including Alec Martinez, Alex Pietrangelo and Brayden McNabb, take a step back.
April 12 – Mark Stone Gets Cleared to Practice
That collective groan you just heard was the rest of the NHL realizing that the Golden Knights seem to be at it again with their cap circumvention tactics. While no one thinks Mark Stone faked a lacerated spleen that has kept him out of action since Feb. 20, his absence through the remainder of the regular season and subsequent potential playoff return does seem convenient – particularly when this exact scenario played out a year ago.
One year after Stone suffered a back injury in mid-February only to return in time for the start of the postseason, a time during which the salary cap is not enforced, the team captain looks poised to potentially turn the trick once more. Without his absence, Vegas would not have been able to afford to bring in the likes of Hanifin and Anthony Mantha at the deadline, nor could they have activated Hertl prior to the end of the regular season.
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To be clear, practicing in a non-contact jersey still stands a good distance away from engaging in physical, intense postseason play. Anyone expecting Stone to miraculously hit the ice in time for Game 1 of the first round will surely be disappointed. What the return to the ice represents, however, is optimism that he may eventually have the chance to get back out there at some point. If that serves as further motivation to his teammates to keep the club’s playoff run alive, then all the better.
April 13 – Golden Knights Clinch Playoff Spot
It hasn’t been the smoothest regular season for an organization that has gone from the number-one seed in the Western Conference last season to possibly playing the No. 1 seed this season, but they are officially in. And much like when Vegas secured the franchise’s first Stanley Cup with a dominant 9-3 Game 5 victory over the Florida Panthers, the team punched their ticket in emphatic fashion.
Coming off of three-straight road losses, the Golden Knights took care of business, coming back home to pound the Minnesota Wild 7-2. While Vegas has simply been too good to get overly excited about securing a playoff spot (especially when it came later than most would likely have expected), this marked a nice moment in what has been an up-and-down campaign.
April 14 – Golden Knights Rally Back Against Colorado
With a playoff spot clinched, it didn’t take long for the club to enjoy another significant season highlight. Hosting a fellow Western Conference Cup contender in the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, the Golden Knights found themselves behind 3-0 heading into the third period. From there, Ivan Barbashev kick-started a comeback that also featured William Karlsson’s 29th and 30th goals of the season to force overtime. In the extra frame, Hertl played overtime hero with his second goal as a Golden Knight.
The win had considerable playoff implications, keeping them within reach of the Los Angeles Kings for the third divisional seed in the Pacific and the Nashville Predators for the first Western wild-card spot. More importantly, the successful rally against a top tier opponent serves as a big confidence-builder, particularly for a team that has performed slightly below expectations to date.
Vegas doesn’t have the luxury of reflecting too much on a positive, noteworthy week with plenty still left to play for. They close out the regular season by hosting the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks, two of the West’s weakest teams. Different first-round scenarios still abound and the Golden Knights still have plenty to play for, including trying to get Hertl more comfortable with the team he’s played just four games with to date. You can certainly feel playoff time approaching.
