Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press
Vegas Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson (20) handles the puck in front of Seattle Kraken center Morgan Geekie (67) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Seattle.
Published Thursday, April 13, 2023 | 10:20 p.m.
Updated Thursday, April 13, 2023 | 11:35 p.m.
For the third time in six seasons, the Golden Knights are the top team in the Pacific Division.
And for the first time ever, the road to the Stanley Cup Final in the Western Conference goes through Las Vegas.
Laurent Brossoit made 31 saves, and the Golden Knights defeated the Seattle Kraken 3-1 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Thursday to clinch their third division title in team history.
The victory also clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for the Golden Knights. They will play the Winnipeg Jets in the first round when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Monday.
"Tonight was important," Brossoit said. "Not just for winning the division and the conference and getting that first seed, but heading into the playoffs feeling good."
Game 1 of the series is Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena. Times and broadcast information will be released following Friday's game between Colorado and Nashville that will determine the Central Division champion.
The Golden Knights' playoff fate was already halfway determined during the first intermission when the Edmonton Oilers won 5-2 against the San Jose Sharks. The Oilers needed a Vegas loss in regulation to clinch the division and the conference.
Instead, the Oilers will have home-ice advantage in a first-round rematch with the Los Angeles Kings. Edmonton won in seven games last season.
Reilly Smith and Alec Martinez scored for Vegas, which set a franchise record 111 points this season and tied the team record of 51 wins (51-22-9). The Golden Knights went 51-24-7 in their inaugural season when they went to the Stanley Cup Final.
"We made big strides from where we ended up in the regular season last year," Smith said, reflecting on missing the playoffs for the first time ever nearly a year ago to the day. "A lot of people counted us out. We always believed in this group."
The Kraken dominated play in the opening 20 minutes with relentless offensive zone pressure, and taking away the middle of the ice for the Golden Knights whenever they attempted to get through the neutral zone.
Vegas nearly the first 10 minutes without a shot, but got on the board first when Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn's pass behind the net deflected off Smith's skate and trickled by Grubauer for a 1-0 lead at 9:56. It was Smith's 200th career goal.
Seattle, which entered Thursday leading the league with 277 goals at 5-on-5, responded at 16:20 when Jaden Schwartz beat Brossoit short side from the left circle to tie it 1-1.
In a game where the Golden Knights were already the benefit of a fortuitous bounce, the only thing better than that would have been a net-front goal by a defenseman who had two goals entering the game.
That's what happened when Martinez scored on a delayed penalty at 12:37 of the second period to take a 2-1 lead.
Chandler Stephenson added an empty-net goal for the 3-1 final.
If there was any lingering thought on who should start Game 1 next week, Brossoit officially shut the door on that conversation. The 30-year-old backup goalie, coming off offseason hip surgery, went 7-0-3 in 10 starts.
"It's always nice going into the playoffs and your goalie is coming off a strong game," coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We were much better in front of him at home. Tonight, he bailed us out a number of times."
Brossoit ended the regular season winning his last four starts.
"My last couple of performances, I didn't really have a lot to do. The guys played so well," said Brossoit, who made 20 saves in the 4-1 win against Seattle on Tuesday at home. "To be honest, it was nice to have kind of a workload tonight."
He'll now get rewarded with a playoff series against his former team. Brossoit spent three seasons as the backup to Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg before signing a two-year contract with the Golden Knights in July 2021.
"I'm sure you guys will have fun with that," Brossoit said about facing his old team. "I don't really care who's on the other side. My game is feeling good."
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
