Four reasons the Golden Knights are playing for the Stanley Cup
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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
The not-so-long national Knightmare has ended. The Vegas Golden Knights are in the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in their sixth year of existence.
Reaching the postseason is a goal for many teams. Fair or unfair, making it to the playoffs has become the expectation for the Golden Knights. That’s what happens when a franchise advances to the final round in its first season.
Since then, every Golden Knights team has been judged through the prism of whether it could get back to the Cup Final — and possibly win it all. It’s what made last year’s failure to make the playoffs so jarring, leading to many questions and the hiring of former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy.
Those questions were answered by what Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault says is the best team the Golden Knights have had. Here’s how Vegas secured its date with the Florida Panthers and moved within four wins of the first Stanley Cup in team history.
Who’s scoring for the Golden Knights? Everyone
Let’s revisit what Marchessault said about this year’s version of the Golden Knights being the best team in their short franchise history. If anyone would know, it would be him as one of the six players left from their inaugural campaign in 2017-18. One of the reasons he made that statement presented itself in Game 3 against the Stars.
OK, more like two of the reasons. The first came when William Carrier scored to give Vegas a 3-0 lead at the end of the period, with the second coming in the second period when Alex Pietrangelo pushed it to a 4-0 lead. What made those goals from Carrier and Pietrangelo significant is that the Golden Knights have 16 players who have scored at least one goal this postseason.
That pushed them into a tie for the most of any active team in the playoffs with the Stars. Before those goals, that distinction was held by the Panthers with 15 goal scorers. That the Golden Knights and Panthers are among the two deepest teams in terms of scoring goes back to how coaches and general managers stress the need for depth scoring.
Just look at the recent Stanley Cup winners. The Colorado Avalanche had 16 players with at least one goal when they won it last year. The Tampa Bay Lightning also had 16 players who scored at least one goal in each of their back-to-back title seasons. The St. Louis Blues had 20 when they won the Cup in 2018-19, while the Washington Capitals had 18 when they won their first title in 2018-19.
Don’t call them front-runners
What the Dallas Stars learned in the Western Conference final is a lesson the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers also discovered, in that the Golden Knights are more than comfortable playing from behind.
They gave up the opening goal in Games 2 and 4 against the Jets, contests they would win by more than two goals before taking the series in five games. A similar scenario played out against the Oilers. Vegas trailed in Game 3 before scoring five unanswered goals. The Knights also came from behind in Games 5 and 6 to close out the series. Edmonton had a 2-1 first-period lead in both games.
It happened again in Game 1 of the Western Conference final, when the Stars took a 1-0 lead only to see Vegas eventually win when Brett Howden scored in overtime. In Game 2, the Stars held a 2-1 lead before Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev combined to create a scoring chance Marchessault converted to tie the game, then Chandler Stephenson scored the winner in overtime.
They’re having 5-on-5 success against some big names
Roope Hintz. Matthew Tkachuk. Connor McDavid. Leon Draisaitl. Evan Bouchard. They were the top five players in postseason points prior to Game 6 of the Western Conference final. Here’s something else they have in common: The Golden Knights have either played or are about to play all of them.
How the Golden Knights will fare against Tkachuk, who is second in playoff points, is one of the subplots to follow in the Cup Final. But what they have done against the majority of the points leaders at this stage is another one of those items that has yet to attract attention with the idea that it could as the playoffs go forward.
Vegas’ penalty kill is still a work in progress as its 61.4% success rate is 15th out of the 16 playoff teams. But the Golden Knights have made strides in 5-on-5 play against the majority of those aforementioned players. Edmonton’s McDavid was the most consistent of the group, with the superstar center scoring 10 points, six coming on the power play. Draisaitl had six goals in the first two games against Vegas, but did not score again for the rest of the series. He finished with one point — a 5-on-5 assist — in the last four games. Bouchard had three points in the final four games, all on the power play.
As for the Stars’ Hintz? He entered Game 6 leading the NHL with 24 points this postseason. He had three points — one goal and two assists — in Game 1 with all of those points coming in 5-on-5 play. Yet Vegas seemed to find a formula for subduing the hulking Finnish forward as he was held to zero points on five shots in Games 2 and 3, and two assists in Game 4. Thereafter? Goose eggs.
King of the (Adin) Hill
One game. That’s the amount of combined playoff experience that Laurent Brossoit and Adin Hill shared entering this postseason. Brossoit answered a few of the questions about his inexperience when he won five of his first seven starts and helped the Golden Knights reach the second round.
But questions resurfaced when Brossoit sustained an early injury in Game 3 against the Oilers in the second round. Enter Hill, who relieved Brossoit in his first career playoff outing. Hill shut out the Oilers on 24 saves the rest of the way in a 5-1 Vegas win.
All told, Hill enters the Stanley Cup Final with a 7-3 record, a 2.30 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. Aside from the 4-1 defeat in Game 4 against the Oilers, Hill’s worst performance came in Game 5 against Dallas, when he allowed four goals on 34 shots. Among goalies with at least eight games played this postseason, Hill is in the top five in GAA and save percentage.
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Greg Wyshynski
I fully admit that most of my 2024-25 NHL preseason predictions were a waste of pixels: a collection of bad calls, faulty logic and the bold prediction that the Buffalo Sabres would make the playoffs — which should qualify me for some sort of cognitive examination.
But I got something right: The two teams I predicted would battle in the Stanley Cup Final are part of the 2025 NHL postseason bracket. However, after 82 games of data, results and analysis, I’ve decided to punt on one of those picks while remaining ride-or-die on the other one — most likely to my detriment, given their current predicament.
Here is how the Stanley Cup playoffs will play out, from the opening round through the last game of the Final. I apologize in advance for spoiling the next two months for you, as obviously all of this is going to happen exactly to script and none of these picks will be incorrect.
Let’s all enjoy the best postseason in sports together, no matter how it goes.
The 2024-25 NHL season is officially in the rearview mirror. Sixteen of the league’s teams have made the postseason bracket, and 16 have been eliminated.
Before the first-round series begins, ESPN’s experts have identified their picks for each matchup, along with the team that will win the Stanley Cup in June and the player who will win the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP).
More: Full schedule
Megapreview
Lapsed fan’s guide
Betting intel
Contender flaws
Atlantic Division
Sean Allen: Maple Leafs in seven
Blake Bolden: Maple Leafs in six
John Buccigross: Maple Leafs in seven
Ryan Callahan: Maple Leafs in six
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Maple Leafs in five
Sachin Chandan: Senators in six
Meghan Chayka: Maple Leafs in five
Ryan S. Clark: Senators in seven
Linda Cohn: Maple Leafs in six
Rachel Doerrie: Maple Leafs in six
Ray Ferraro: Maple Leafs in seven
Emily Kaplan: Maple Leafs in six
Tim Kavanagh: Maple Leafs in five
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Maple Leafs in five
Steve Levy: Maple Leafs in six
Vince Masi: Senators in seven
Victoria Matiash: Maple Leafs in six
Sean McDonough: Senators in six
Mark Messier: Maple Leafs in six
Mike Monaco: Maple Leafs in five
Arda Öcal: Maple Leafs in six
Kristen Shilton: Maple Leafs in six
Bob Wischusen: Maple Leafs in six
Greg Wyshynski: Maple Leafs in five
Consensus prediction: Maple Leafs (20 of 24 picks)
Sean Allen: Panthers in six
Blake Bolden: Lightning in seven
John Buccigross: Lightning in seven
Ryan Callahan: Lightning in seven
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Panthers in six
Sachin Chandan: Lightning in five
Meghan Chayka: Lightning in six
Ryan S. Clark: Panthers in seven
Linda Cohn: Lightning in six
Rachel Doerrie: Lightning in seven
Ray Ferraro: Lightning in six
Emily Kaplan: Lightning in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Lightning in seven
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Lightning in seven
Steve Levy: Panthers in seven
Vince Masi: Lightning in six
Victoria Matiash: Panthers in six
Sean McDonough: Lightning in seven
Mark Messier: Lightning in seven
Mike Monaco: Lightning in six
Arda Öcal: Panthers in six
Kristen Shilton: Lightning in seven
Bob Wischusen: Lightning in seven
Greg Wyshynski: Lightning in seven
Consensus prediction: Lightning (18 of 24 picks)
Metropolitan Division
Sean Allen: Capitals in six
Blake Bolden: Canadiens in six
John Buccigross: Capitals in seven
Ryan Callahan: Capitals in five
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Capitals in five
Sachin Chandan: Capitals in five
Meghan Chayka: Capitals in five
Ryan S. Clark: Capitals in six
Linda Cohn: Capitals in six
Rachel Doerrie: Capitals in five
Ray Ferraro: Capitals in five
Emily Kaplan: Capitals in 6
Tim Kavanagh: Capitals in five
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Capitals in five
Steve Levy: Capitals in five
Vince Masi: Capitals in six
Victoria Matiash: Canadiens in seven
Sean McDonough: Canadiens in six
Mark Messier: Capitals in six
Mike Monaco: Capitals in six
Arda Öcal: Canadiens in seven
Kristen Shilton: Capitals in seven
Bob Wischusen: Canadiens in seven
Greg Wyshynski: Capitals in five
Consensus prediction: Capitals (20 of 24 picks)
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Ovechkin tells McAfee his chase for the goal record was great for hockey
Alex Ovechkin joins “The Pat McAfee Show” to discuss his achievement of surpassing Wayne Gretzky as the all-time goals leader and the impact on the game.
Sean Allen: Hurricanes in five
Blake Bolden: Devils in seven
John Buccigross: Hurricanes in seven
Ryan Callahan: Hurricanes in five
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Hurricanes in six
Sachin Chandan: Devils in six
Meghan Chayka: Hurricanes in five
Ryan S. Clark: Hurricanes in seven
Linda Cohn: Devils in seven
Rachel Doerrie: Hurricanes in six
Ray Ferraro: Hurricanes in six
Emily Kaplan: Hurricanes in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Devils in seven
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Hurricanes in six
Steve Levy: Devils in seven
Vince Masi: Hurricanes in seven
Victoria Matiash: Hurricanes in six
Sean McDonough: Hurricanes in seven
Mark Messier: Hurricanes in seven
Arda Öcal: Devils in six
Kristen Shilton: Hurricanes in four
Bob Wischusen: Hurricanes in six
Greg Wyshynski: Hurricanes in six
Consensus prediction: Hurricanes (17 of 23 picks)
Central Division
Sean Allen: Jets in five
Blake Bolden: Jets in six
John Buccigross: Jets in seven
Ryan Callahan: Jets in six
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Jets in five
Sachin Chandan: Jets in four
Meghan Chayka: Blues in six
Ryan S. Clark: Jets in seven
Linda Cohn: Jets in six
Rachel Doerrie: Blues in seven
Ray Ferraro: Jets in seven
Emily Kaplan: Jets in six
Tim Kavanagh: Jets in seven
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Jets in six
Steve Levy: Jets in seven
Vince Masi: Jets in seven
Victoria Matiash: Jets in six
Sean McDonough: Jets in five
Mark Messier: Jets in six
Mike Monaco: Blues in seven
Arda Öcal: Blues in six
Kristen Shilton: Jets in six
Bob Wischusen: Jets in six
Greg Wyshynski: Jets in five
Consensus prediction: Jets (20 of 24 picks)
Sean Allen: Stars in seven
Blake Bolden: Avalanche in six
John Buccigross: Avalanche in seven
Ryan Callahan: Avalanche in seven
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Avalanche in seven
Sachin Chandan: Avalanche in six
Meghan Chayka: Avalanche in six
Ryan S. Clark: Stars in seven
Linda Cohn: Avalanche in six
Rachel Doerrie: Avalanche in six
Ray Ferraro: Avalanche in six
Emily Kaplan: Avalanche in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Stars in seven
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Avalanche in seven
Steve Levy: Avalanche in seven
Vince Masi: Avalanche in five
Victoria Matiash: Avalanche in six
Sean McDonough: Avalanche in six
Mark Messier: Avalanche in five
Mike Monaco: Avalanche in six
Arda Öcal: Avalanche in seven
Kristen Shilton: Avalanche in six
Bob Wischusen: Avalanche in six
Greg Wyshynski: Stars in seven
Consensus prediction: Avalanche (20 of 24 picks)
Pacific Division
Sean Allen: Wild in seven
Blake Bolden: Golden Knights in five
John Buccigross: Golden Knights in seven
Ryan Callahan: Golden Knights in six
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Golden Knights in six
Sachin Chandan: Golden Knights in five
Meghan Chayka: Golden Knights in five
Ryan S. Clark: Golden Knights in six
Linda Cohn: Golden Knights in six
Rachel Doerrie: Golden Knights in six
Ray Ferraro: Golden Knights in five
Emily Kaplan: Golden Knights in sixe
Tim Kavanagh: Golden Knights in five
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Golden Knights in five
Steve Levy: Golden Knights in five
Vince Masi: Golden Knights in six
Victoria Matiash: Golden Knights in six
Sean McDonough: Golden Knights in five
Mark Messier: Golden Knights in five
Mike Monaco: Golden Knights in six
Arda Öcal: Golden Knights in five
Kristen Shilton: Golden Knights in five
Bob Wischusen: Golden Knights in six
Greg Wyshynski: Golden Knights in five
Consensus prediction: Golden Knights (23 of 24 picks)
Sean Allen: Kings in six
Blake Bolden: Kings in seven
John Buccigross: Kings in seven
Ryan Callahan: Kings in six
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Oilers in seven
Sachin Chandan: Kings in seven
Meghan Chayka: Oilers in six
Ryan S. Clark: Oilers in seven
Linda Cohn: Kings in seven
Rachel Doerrie: Kings in seven
Ray Ferraro: Kings in seven
Emily Kaplan: Oilers in seven
Tim Kavanagh: Kings in five
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Kings in seven
Steve Levy: Kings in seven
Vince Masi: Oilers in seven
Victoria Matiash: Kings in six
Sean McDonough: Kings in seven
Mark Messier: Oilers in six
Mike Monaco: Oilers in six
Arda Öcal: Oilers in six
Kristen Shilton: Oilers in six
Bob Wischusen: Kings in seven
Greg Wyshynski: Oilers in six
Consensus prediction: Kings (14 of 24 picks)
1:05
Mark Messier: The Kings are going to be a problem for the Oilers
Mark Messier explains why the Kings are a different team this year and present a bigger challenge to the Oilers.
Stanley Cup
Sean Allen: Maple Leafs
John Buccigross: Avalanche
Ryan Callahan: Golden Knights
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Avalanche
Sachin Chandan: Avalanche
Meghan Chayka: Golden Knights
Ryan S. Clark: Golden Knights
Linda Cohn: Jets
Rachel Doerrie: Avalanche
Ray Ferraro: Golden Knights
Emily Kaplan: Golden Knights
Tim Kavanagh: Golden Knights
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Golden Knights
Steve Levy: Golden Knights
Vince Masi: Lightning
Victoria Matiash: Jets
Sean McDonough: Golden Knights
Mark Messier: Oilers
Mike Monaco: Avalanche
Arda Öcal: Maple Leafs
Kristen Shilton: Avalanche
Bob Wischusen: Jets
Greg Wyshynski: Stars
Prediction breakdown: Golden Knights (9), Avalanche (6), Jets (3), Maple Leafs (2), Lightning (1), Oilers (1), Stars (1)
Conn Smythe (playoff MVP)
Sean Allen: Mitch Marner
John Buccigross: Brock Nelson
Ryan Callahan: Jack Eichel
Cassie Campbell-Pascall: Cale Makar
Sachin Chandan: Nathan MacKinnon
Meghan Chayka: Jack Eichel
Ryan S. Clark: Jack Eichel
Linda Cohn: Connor Hellebuyck
Rachel Doerrie: Nathan MacKinnon
Ray Ferraro: Jack Eichel
Emily Kaplan: Jack Eichel
Tim Kavanagh: Jack Eichel
Peter Lawrence-Riddell: Jack Eichel
Steve Levy: Jack Eichel
Vince Masi: Brayden Point
Victoria Matiash: Connor Hellebuyck
Sean McDonough: Jack Eichel
Mark Messier: Connor McDavid
Mike Monaco: Nathan McKinnon
Arda Öcal: William Nylander
Kristen Shilton: Nathan MacKinnon
Bob Wischusen: Connor Hellebuyck
Greg Wyshynski: Jake Oettinger
Prediction breakdown: Jack Eichel (10), Nathan MacKinnon (3), Connor Hellebuyck (3), Mitch Marner (1), Brock Nelson (1), Cale Makar (1), Brayden Point (1), Connor McDavid (1), William Nylander (1), Jake Oettinger (1)
The Edmonton Oilers on Saturday signed defenseman Ty Emberson to a two-year contract extension with an average annual value of $1.3 million.
The Oilers, who will take on the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, inserted 24-year-old Emberson into the lineup for 76 games this season, recording two goals and 13 point. He averaged 15:07 of ice time for the defending Western Conference champions.
Emberson has turned into a reliable force on Edmonton’s penalty-kill unit, and figures to maintain that role vs. the Kings. Emberson led all Edmonton defensemen in total short-handed time on ice (149:32) this season, while ranking second in hits (125).
The Kings will host Game 1 on Monday night at 10 p.m. ET at Crypto.com Arena.
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