Golden Knights can clinch a playoff berth this week

By Jesse Granger

Tuesday, March 20, 2018 | 2 a.m.

The Golden Knights could clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs as soon as Thursday.

Wins today against the Vancouver Canucks and Thursday at San Jose, coupled with a loss by the Dallas Stars today and the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, would officially put Vegas in the postseason.

Even if Dallas beats Washington today, the Golden Knights could clinch the playoffs with a third-straight win at Colorado on Saturday. The first-place Golden Knights are sitting in a good spot in the final weeks of the regular season with 97 points, considering no team in the history of the NHL has ever missed the playoffs with more than 96 points.

“There’s no “X” beside our name right now so that’s the key,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “It’s getting closer now.”

The Golden Knights halted a four-game losing streak at home with 4-0 win over the Calgary Flames on Sunday. They stretched their lead over the San Jose Sharks to eight points for the Pacific Division.

Vegas could clinch the division title as early as next Monday but would need four straight wins combined with three losses by San Jose, one of which is a matchup between the teams on Thursday.

With 10 games still remaining in the regular season, clinching early could benefit the Golden Knights greatly, allowing them a chance to rest players, get healthy and find the right line combinations heading into the playoffs.

Nate Schmidt leads all Vegas skaters with 1,514 minutes of ice time, while William Karlsson leads the forwards with 1,339. Then there are veteran players like Deryk Engelland, who is on pace to play his most minutes ever in a season, at nearly 36 years old.

“We have some guys that play a lot of hockey for us,” Gallant said. “Sometimes you need an extra day off and those guys will get that when they want. I played the game and you know you get tired this time of the year and those guys have played enough hockey (to be tired).”

The Golden Knights likely will finish as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference — they are seven points behind Nashville for the top seed — meaning they would face the top wildcard team in the first round. The Colorado Avalanche currently hold that spot but are in fierce competition with the Kings, Stars and Blues.

“You can’t wait until the playoffs,” defenseman Jon Merrill said. “You have to get your game going in the right direction right now and peaking right now to get ready for the playoffs.”