Recap: The Golden Knights and Kraken paired up in Seattle for both teams’ regular season finale. Reilly Smith opened the scoring midway through the opening twenty minutes, giving Vegas a 1-0 lead. Later in the period the Kraken evened the score at 1-1.
Both teams had power play opportunities, but Vegas took advantage on the penalty kill to snap the 1-1 tie. Alec Martinez jumped on a rebound and scored his third goal of the 2022-23 season. After two periods the visiting team held a slim 2-1 lead.
The Kraken came out firing in the final period, but Vegas goaltender Laurent Brossoit continued to frustrate Seattle. Vegas added a late empty-net goal to finish off the Kraken 3-1 and secured the Pacific Division and the number one seed in the Western Conference.
The Golden Knights finish the regular season with a record of 51-22-9, totaling 111 points. Vegas will prepare for a first-round playoff matchup with the Winnipeg Jets. Game 1 is on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. (Recap by Jason)
Analysis: The Golden Knights played about as poorly as they have all season. They scored twice on plays in which they did not shoot and the other one was a bouncing puck that Alec Martinez scored on a delayed shorthanded penalty.
Who gives a damn though! The Golden Knights have won the Pacific Division, have clinched the #1 seed, and will host the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs. (Analysis by Ken)
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