Golden Knights Capture Pacific Division Title After 4-1 Beatdown Over Kraken
The Vegas Golden Knights are the champions of what might be the most anticlimactic race of all time. With a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday, they clinched their fifth Pacific Division title in franchise history. Connor McDavid’s words were truth disguised as jest– this year, teams in the Pacific Division have done nothing but squander opportunities to pull ahead in the race to claim the division title.
It took until day 190 of the NHL season for a team to pull ahead and stake its claim on the Pillow Fight Division title. “We were on top there for a while, for a lot of the season,” said Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb. “Then we’re in third, flirting with a wildcard.
We found our game at the right time and won the division. That’s what we wanted to do, and we did it. ” For the first 30 minutes of play, it didn’t look like the Golden Knights were particularly interested in winning said division.
It took them nearly nine minutes to record their first shot on goal; the Kraken recorded nine shots before Vegas managed two. But after an encouraging power play opportunity, Seattle only outshot the Golden Knights 11-6 at the end of the first period. But despite being thoroughly outshot– and arguably outplayed– the Golden Knights entered the second period with a clean slate and a 0-0 tie.
Both teams recorded nine shots on goal in the second period, and the Golden Knights generated three high-danger scoring chances against Seattle’s two. The Kraken broke the ice 2:24 into the second period. Carter Hart kicked out Jamie Oleksiak’s blast from the point, and Jani Nyman beat Jeremy Lauzon to the puck.
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