標籤: clinch

The Vegas Golden Knights have punched their ticket to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Vegas secured their postseason berth with a 3–2 overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche, moving into first place in the Pacific Division. The Golden Knights are now one point ahead of the Edmonton Oilers and two points ahead of the Anaheim Ducks.

Colorado opened the scoring on the power play when defenseman Devon Toews scored his third goal of the season. With Cal Maker sidelined by injury, Toews stepped into an increased role and quickly performed well. Gabriel Landeskog provided a screen in front of goaltender Carter Hart.

Vegas responded immediately. Mark Stone turned the puck in before backhanding it to Mackenzie Blackwood to tie the score at 1-1.

Late in the period, Pavel Dorofeyev finished a setup from Ivan Barbashev to give Vegas the lead. With traffic in front of Brett Howden, Blackwood never got a shot off. The goal was Dorofeyev’s 36th goal of the season, giving him consecutive 35-goal campaigns.

The Avalanche responded to tie the game at 2-2. Nick Blankenburg scored his first goal with Colorado after being acquired at the trade deadline, and scored his seventh goal of the season on an assist from former Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy.

The third period featured end-to-end action, with both teams creating quality chances but unable to convert. The Golden Knights played hard defensively late, limiting high-danger looks and getting key stops from Hart to force overtime.

In the extra frames, Jack Eichel scored the winner, his 26th goal of the season, moving the Golden Knights past the top team in the NHL. Eichel’s goal capped a strong night for the Golden Knights’ top line, which generated consistent pressure in the offensive zone.

With the win, the Golden Knights moved back into first place in the Pacific Division. If the playoffs started today, the Golden Knights would face the first wild-card team, the Utah Mammoth.

The Golden Knights will return home to close out the regular season with two games at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights will host the Winnipeg Jets on Monday, April 13, before concluding the regular season against the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday, April 15.

A strong finish could secure the division title and home-ice advantage as the Golden Knights look to carry momentum into the postseason.

Cooper Krigbaum is a beat reporter covering the Vegas Golden Knights for Vegas Hockey Now on SportsNut. He also told about Cooper Krigbaum

It’s official, the Montreal Canadiens will participate in playoff hockey for the second consecutive season.

The Habs qualified for the playoffs thanks to a tremendous effort by the Detroit Red Wings vs. the Minnesota Wild. Detroit lost 5–4, meaning they could no longer catch the Canadiens.

Of course, the Canadiens could qualify with another win against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night, but regardless of the defining moment, it’s fair to say Montreal has exceeded all expectations this season.

Whether it’s Cole Caufield’s pursuit of 50 goals, Nick Suzuki’s 100-point run, Juraj Slafkowski’s continued development at power forward, Lane Hutson’s impressive blue line production, or the play of the rookie netminders, the Canadiens have epitomized excitement while putting together one of the cleanest rebuilds in modern NHL history.

This is especially notable when we consider that the team finished last in 2021-22, which allowed them to select Slafkovsky with the first overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Of course, the work is far from done, and if the Habs are to be considered legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, they will need to strengthen their defensive game, but the NHL is full of teams that have experienced unsuccessful rebuilds, making Montreal’s progress in just a few years quite remarkable.

home ice in play

If the NHL playoffs begin on Sunday afternoon, the Canadiens will face the surging Buffalo Sabers with home advantage.

Given that they are only two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division, there is a possibility that the Canadiens could face the first-place wild card team instead of the Sabres.

It would be a fitting reward for a team that has won eight consecutive games heading into the season finale, with several Eastern Conference teams also desperate to punch their ticket to the springtime dance.

While there is much praise to be given to the players, it must also be said that head coach Martin Saint-Louis has done a great job trusting his roster, which is the youngest lineup in the league. There will be very few, if any other coaches willing to give their full confidence to first-year players, and yet when the game is on the line the Canadiens consistently rely on Ivan Demidov, Oliver Kapanen, Jacob Dobbs and Jacob Fowler.

Likewise, it shouldn’t be long until general manager Kent Hughes’ name starts circulating as a strong candidate for the Jim Gregory Award, given to the top GM in the NHL as voted on by a panel of his peers.

Ivan Demidov scored in the shootout. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/4qRb9HPp2W

– Montreal Hockey Now (@MTLhockeynow) 5 April 2026

Mark has been covering the Habs for over a decade. He previously worked for the Journal Metro, The Athletic, The… More about Mark Dumont