Two Years, One Cup? What The Playoffs Have In Store For The VGK

Is it possible lightning will strike two years in a row for Las Vegas's favorite Golden Misfits? This and many more questions are set to be answered starting tonight as the NHL playoffs open up with the Golden Knights heading to San Jose for a first round showdown with one of the top VGK rivals. Arguably the best time in all of sports, the Stanley Cup playoffs kick off as the Knights are set to take on the Sharks in the first round, a rematch of last year's Western Conference semifinal that saw the Knights winning the series, 4-1. The playoffs mean teams bring their best play and the best players go to an all new level in a tournament for the glorious Stanley Cup. At this point in the season, all teams are locked in and ready to face the first opponent standing between them at Lord Stanley. After a slow start to the season, the Vegas Golden Knights have qualified for the playoffs, clinching the third seed in the Pacific division with a record of 43-32-7. This is how the rest of the division sits:

1. Calgary Flames (50-25-7)
2. San Jose Sharks (46-27-9)
3. Vegas Golden Knights (43-32-7)
4. First Wild Card: Dallas Stars (43-32-7)
5. Second Wild Card: Colorado Avalanche (38-30-14)

San Jose and Calgary kept playing hopscotch in the standings in the later half of the season until the Sharks went on a late-season skid, giving Calgary the first spot in the Pacific and the West. The Flames take on the Avalanche starting Thursday. San Jose and Vegas is a series to watch as both teams have been fiercely competitive with each other throughout the entire season, and dating back to last year’s playoffs, where Vegas outlasted the Sharks to continue their historic run to the Stanley Cup Final. However, this time San Jose has home-ice advantage, giving them a potential upper-hand. The Knights and the Sharks have played each other twice in the preseason with the VGK won both meetings, and four times in the regular season, splitting the series 2-2. Obviously, the two teams are matched quite well against each other and it’s anyone’s guess which team would end up on top. This series will be nothing but entertaining, but do not be surprised if it comes down to a Game 7 situation to determine who goes on. Still, most hockey experts have the Knights going on to the second round.

Should Vegas make it to the second round, and unless Colorado manages to pull off a major upset, they will be facing the Calgary Flames. Vegas and Calgary split their regular season meetings 2-2 as well. Despite the thorough 7-2 beat down in November, the Knights had a quick turn around and shut out the Flames less than a week later in Vegas. Not only would this playoff series give Vegas a chance to avenge that loss once more, it would be extremely interesting to watch since both teams have a personal history with each other this season, not to mention James Neal switching sides. The Knights have the ability to beat Calgary if they stay true to their game, play solid defense and the goaltending is impeccable. If they can get out of the West, there is no reason the Knights can be the Western Conference Champions two years in a row. On the other side of the Western Conference, Nashville barely climbed over the Jets to get to the first position, and it is likely they aren’t going anywhere. The full standings in the Central conference sits like this:

1. Nashville Predators (47-29-6)
2. Winnipeg Jets (47-30-5)
3. Saint Louis Blues (45-28-9)
4. First Wild Card: Dallas Stars (43-32-7)
5. Second Wild Card: Colorado Avalanche (38-30-14)

In the first round, Winnipeg will face St. Louis and Nashville will face Dallas. Unless something short of miraculous happens, Winnipeg and Nashville will play to face the Pacific division winners. Should Vegas win the Pacific division, they face a tough battle against either Winnipeg or Nashville. The Jets and the Knights played three times this season and ended 2-1 in favor of Winnipeg. These games give us a good look as to what a playoff series might look like between the teams. The Jets would certainly be out to avenge being knocked out of the playoffs by Vegas in the Stanley Cup semi-finals, and Vegas would have to take a stand to show they deserve a shot at the cup for the second year in a row. Nashville has won the first two regular-season meetings between them and the Knights, but Vegas won the last matchup, sending a message to the other playoff teams that Vegas is not the team they saw at the beginning of the season and they are ready to compete and avenge their loss of last year’s cup. Should Vegas beat either Winnipeg or Nashville, the Knights have the potential to go all the way. They started playing well consistently after the addition of Mark Stone at the trade deadline, and they have proven they are capable of taking on any team that comes their way. Anything can happen in the playoffs, and with the small sample size of one year, it has been mostly in Vegas’s favor. So two years, one cup? Maybe. But despite reports this year’s team being better than last’s, they will certainly face more of an uphill battle to get there. If they do become Stanley Cup champions, they will have earned it, without a doubt.