The Colorado Avalanche have clinched the Presidents’ Trophy, so their last four games of the regular season are for style points. Vegas, however, has plenty on the line when it plays at Colorado on Saturday night.
The Golden Knights (36-26-17, 89 points) are in a battle with Edmonton and Anaheim for the Pacific Division title and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. Vegas can have home ice advantage for two rounds, start the playoffs on the road or, though unlikely, not reach the postseason if it loses the last three games.
The Knights have surged since interim coach John Tortorella took over from Bruce Cassidy, who was fired March 29th. Vegas won its first four games under Tortorella, a streak that ended with an overtime loss at Seattle on Thursday night.
Tortorella wasn’t dwelling on his team blowing a two-goal lead to the Kraken.
“I’m not going to overdissect it. It’s not the time of year to be overdissecting,” he said. “We’ll grab this point and get on the plane and get up to Colorado.”
The Knights can clinch at least a playoff spot with a win over the Avalanche, or if they earn at least one point combined with regulation losses by Nashville and Winnipeg.
The bigger goal is winning the division. Vegas trails the Oilers by a point — with Edmonton holding the tiebreaker — and is tied with the Ducks. The Knights have the tiebreaker over Anaheim, and all three teams have three games remaining.
The Avalanche (52-16-10, 114 points) secured home ice for their duration of the playoffs with a 3-1 win over Calgary on Thursday night. Colorado can use the last week of the regular season to rest players and get healthy.
Defenseman Cale Makar (upper body) has not played since March 30 but could return for one of the final four games. Center Nazem Kadri sustained a finger injury at St. Louis on Tuesday but is also expected to be ready for the playoffs.
Colorado is chasing its fourth title in the past 30 years, and securing the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time since 2020-21 was the first step in that goal.
“We’re not going to celebrate too much. It’s obviously an accomplishment,” captain Gabe Landeskog said. “You’re the top team after 82 games, but at the end of the day, going into the playoffs it doesn’t really mean much. Everybody’s going to start fresh, everybody’s starting 0-0, and get a chance to prove yourselves again.”
The last team to win the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup was the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks.
There are personal milestones left to accomplish. Martin Necas is two points from his first 100-point season and Nathan MacKinnon, with 52 goals, has a chance to win the Rocket Richard Trophy for the top goal scorer.
He leads Montreal’s Cole Caufield, who has 50.
