The Vegas Golden Knights need to win just one more game in order to become the champion of the Pacific Division. Michael Amadio played a big role in their possible success, since he scored two goals and made an assist in their 4-1 victory over Seattle. Unfortunately, Edmonton prevented them from snagging the title when they won 2-1 against Colorado during overtime.
Reilly Smith had a great game with 3 points. He scored on a shot from his teammate Amadio, and also gave an assist to Amadio for two of their goals. Jonathan Marchessault scored in a 5-on-3 power play, and William Karlsson assisted in both goals. Laurent Brossoit got 20 saves, so he now has 6 wins and 3 draws this season. Thanks to the Vegas defense team, they only allowed 4 shots during the third period.
Coach Bruce Cassidy of the Knights believes that it is important for teams to play a full 60 minutes during the regular season so they can be fully prepared for playoffs where their opponents will keep fighting until the very end. Yanni Gourde scored in a game which was part of played two games in a row.
“We did well in the first period, but our energy was gone in the second and third periods,” said Seattle coach Dave Hakstol. “The other team was really on top of us.”
The Knights are doing really well with their last seven games and currently lead both the Pacific and Western Conferences. They’ll play against the Kraken on Thursday night to decide who will be crowned as the champions of their division. If they win, then Vegas gets the title but if they don’t, it goes to Edmonton. Edmonton has fewer points than Vegas but they have an advantage because even if both teams have the same number of points, Edmonton will get to keep the title.
”We were able to learn a lot about how our opponents (the Kraken) play, and we plan on using some of the same strategies when we compete against them in the future,” Amadio said. “But it will be really close since all points count!”
Seattle recently lost their five-game streak, and so far the Kraken have managed to get 100 points which means they’ve already secured a place in playoffs. They’re currently just two points behind Los Angeles for third place in the Pacific spot.
Amadio had an amazing day at the game! He scored two goals, which was his second time ever doing this. He also got three points that day. Smith, who played with him, said that Amadio has been great the whole year and deserves more time playing in the game.
Smith scored a record of three points this season and he is only one goal short of getting 200 goals in his career.
Unfortunately, Jared McCann’s streak of having three consecutive goals was stopped and his five-game point streak was also ended.
The team Seattle got caught with two minor penalties at the start of third period, and Vegas took advantage of it when Marchessault scored 18 seconds later for a 4-1 lead.
“I was unhappy about being in a 5-on-3 situation,” said Hakstol. “The calls were questionable. Going down 5-on-3 was a tough spot for us and didn’t have an effect on the game.”
UP NEXT
Both teams will face each other one more time in Seattle on Thursday night, which is the last game of their regular season.