3 takeaways: Knights lose in shootout; 1st-round playoff opponent set

Danny Webster, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Apr 16, 2025

Published in Hockey

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The Golden Knights have nothing left to play for in the regular season.

They clinched the highest possible seed they could heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and their first-round opponent is set.

But the Knights still have to play 82 games like everybody else, and Game 81 ended with a 5-4 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta.

The point cemented the Knights as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. They will have home-ice advantage in every series with the exception of a potential Western Conference Final matchup with the Winnipeg Jets or a Stanley Cup Final rematch with the Washington Capitals.

“I thought we played really well,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I’m sitting here, I can’t believe we lost.”

Left wing Brandon Saad had a goal and two assists, and right wing Pavel Dorofeyev scored for the Knights (49-22-10). Goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 24 saves.

That’s not the important news to come out of this game, however. The Knights will face the Minnesota Wild in the first round.

The Wild clinched the first wild card after earning a point against the Anaheim Ducks when Joel Eriksson Ek scored with 21 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

Minnesota won 3-2, with center Matt Boldy scoring the winning goal.

“I was surprised. I thought Minnesota was losing 2-1,” Cassidy said. “When I went out to the bench, there was 30 seconds left. We looked at the TV feed, so, yeah, I was surprised.”

The St. Louis Blues are locked into the second wild card after their 6-1 win over the Utah Hockey Club. They will face the Jets in the first round.

Calgary (40-27-14) was eliminated from playoff contention before the game ended.

“Obviously it’s weird, but this is a job for all of us,” right wing Keegan Kolesar said. “It’s not like they’re going to stop playing because their season ended.”

The Knights jumped out to a 3-1 first-period lead thanks to centers Tomas Hertl and Nicolas Roy, as well as Dorofeyev’s team-leading 34th of the season.

Calgary answered back with two goals in the first 1:04 of the third period by centers Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund. Right wing Adam Klapka gave the Flames the lead at 11:01.

Saad tied it 11 seconds later.

Calgary center Morgan Frost, who scored the Flames’ first goal, scored the lone goal in the shootout. Defenseman Shea Theodore and left wing Victor Olofsson hit the post in their attempts.

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

1. Resting the regulars

The Knights, as expected, went into the game short-handed, with center Jack Eichel, captain Mark Stone, defensemen Noah Hanifin and Alex Pietrangelo and goaltender Adin Hill getting the night off.

Cassidy hinted that those taking part in the 4 Nations Face-Off would get some rest heading into the playoffs.

Expect the same idea for Wednesday’s finale against the Vancouver Canucks.

2. Wolf impressive

The future of the Flames’ goaltending department is in great hands.

Rookie netminder Dustin Wolf made 38 saves to secure his 29th win in his 53rd start of the season.

“I thought their goaltender was excellent,” Cassidy said.

Wolf, who turns 24 on Wednesday, did everything he could to help get the Flames into the playoffs. He’s 5-0-2 in his past seven starts.

If not for the emergence of Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson, Wolf would be the front-runner for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.

3. Looking ahead to the Wild

The Knights, who swept the three-game season series with the Wild, will have home-ice advantage after clinching their fourth Pacific Division title in eight seasons. The series schedule has not been released.

Minnesota, however, did not have star winger Kirill Kaprizov for two of those regular-season matchups.

“It’s going to be an exciting series. They’re a heavy team,” Kolesar said.

This will be a rematch of the first-round series from the 2021 season that was shortened to 56 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Knights won in seven games, highlighted by former right wing Mattias Janmark’s hat trick in Game 7 on May 28, 2021.

Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was the Knights’ starting goaltender that night, but will be on the Minnesota bench for what’s expected to be his final postseason. Fleury, the 2021 Vezina Trophy winner, has said he will retire at the end of the season.

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