Knights beat Canucks in regular-season finale; playoffs await

Danny Webster, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Apr 17, 2025

Published in Hockey

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Eighty-two games are in the books. As Anakin Skywalker would say, this is where the fun begins.

The Golden Knights’ eighth regular season is in the books after a 4-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The next time the Knights take the ice will be in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Their seventh playoff run in eight seasons starts against the Minnesota Wild in the first round, with Game 1 likely on Sunday.

Right wing Pavel Dorofeyev scored his 35th goal of the season, left wing Victor Olofsson scored, and the Knights (50-22-10) completed a season sweep of the Canucks.

Center Jack Eichel also scored, and goaltender Akira Schmid made 16 saves.

Center Cole Schwindt also scored his first career goal, an empty-netter with 1:32 remaining.

The Knights completed their third 50-win season in franchise history, falling one shy of tying their franchise record of 51 set in the 2017-18 and 2022-23 seasons. Their 110 points are one shy of tying the franchise record set in 2023.

They, of course, made the Stanley Cup Final in both seasons and won their first championship in 2023.

Dorofeyev, defenseman Brayden McNabb and right wing Keegan Kolesar reached the 82-game mark this season. It’s the third straight season for McNabb, while Dorofeyev and Kolesar hit a full season for the first time.

Vancouver left wing Pius Suter opened the scoring 8:23 into the first period, but Olofsson scored his 15th of the season to tie it 1-1 at 18:33 of the second.

Dorofeyev, the 24-year-old who led the Knights in goals in his first full NHL season, gave them a 2-1 lead at 7:59 of the third. Eichel made it 3-1 on a deflection at 10:45.

This game wasn’t going to sway anything for the Knights, but there’s nothing wrong with putting a cap on what’s been a successful season.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Eichel returns

Eichel returned to the lineup after missing the past four games while recovering from an upper-body injury.

Eichel was one of five regulars to sit out of Tuesday’s 5-4 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames, but that was as a precaution. He returned to practice before the team left on the trip.

Eichel ultimately fell short of the 100-point mark, but he capped off his best season with a career-high 94 points and 66 assists, both Knights records.

2. Regulars still out

Despite Eichel getting one more run before the playoffs, there were still some notables absent.

Captain Mark Stone, goaltender Adin Hill, defensemen Noah Hanifin and Zach Whitecloud, center Tomas Hertl and left wing Brandon Saad all got the night off.

The only notable absence was Whitecloud after blocking a shot with his hand Tuesday, but he ultimately played the remainder of that game.

3. Playoffs are set

The NHL has one more day to go in the regular season, but all 16 teams have clinched a playoff spot.

The Montreal Canadiens wrapped up the final spot in the Eastern Conference with a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, eliminating the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The NHL announced that the playoffs will open Saturday with the two Central Division matchups: The Winnipeg Jets host the St. Louis Blues, while the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche rekindle their rivalry.

The remainder of the playoff schedule has yet to be released, but the Knights are expected to open Game 1 on Sunday. The time is still to be determined.