Golden Knights can clinch division title with win over Avalanche
It all comes down to one game for the Golden Knights.
OK, that might be a little dramatic since just about anything seems possible in this upside-down, pandemic-impacted regular season.
But after dispatching the St. Louis Blues in a two-game series, the Knights can wrap up the West Division title Monday against second-place Colorado at T-Mobile Arena.
“Right now, that’s the biggest game of the year,” coach Pete DeBoer said.
The Knights (39-13-2, 80 points) lead the Avalanche by four points and will clinch their third division crown in four seasons with a victory in the regular-season home finale.
The Avalanche (36-13-4) have a game in hand and can still claim the division title with wins in their final three outings provided the Knights don’t surpass 82 points.
The Presidents’ Trophy also is on the line for the Knights, who lead Carolina (36-11-8, 80 points) by points percentage for the best overall record in the NHL and home ice throughout the postseason. A win would clinch the award and make the Knights the only team to reach 40 victories.
“For both sides it’s important,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “Not just standings, but it’s another good measuring stick for each other going into the first round of the playoffs. Both teams are trying to build their game. It’s important for us to really play a good game, build some confidence going into the end of the week.”
The elephant in the room is who starts in net for the Knights, and DeBoer’s choice could indicate who starts Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs.
Marc-Andre Fleury has played all seven games against Colorado, going 4-3 with a 2.14 goals-against average, .932 save percentage and two shutouts. He has a personal eight-game winning streak and hasn’t allowed more than two goals in any of those starts, including Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the Blues.
However, it is Robin Lehner’s turn in the rotation, and he is coming off his second straight shaky start. Lehner allowed a bad goal in the second period Friday and a handful of juicy rebounds before he settled down in the third period and overtime to boost his record to 13-3-2.
The only time DeBoer went away from rotating goalies since Lehner returned from a concussion March 19 was the two-game series at Colorado on March 25 and 27 when Fleury received the start in both games.
Leading goal scorer Max Pacioretty has missed the Knights’ past four games with an undisclosed injury, and his status is unclear. Same goes for winger Ryan Reaves, who participated in the morning skate Friday but was not cleared medically to play, and forward Tomas Nosek.
Colorado star center Nathan MacKinnon (lower body) missed his second straight game Saturday and is expected to be a game-day decision.
The Knights are riding a seven-game home winning streak, one shy of the franchise best set during the inaugural season, and can match Pittsburgh for the best home record in the league (22-4-2).
“If you look at where we were four weeks ago, I don’t think many people would have predicted we could have hunted Colorado down, and for sure not control our own destiny with two games left,” DeBoer said. “The guys dug in there for the last month, and we played a lot of good hockey, a lot of it on the road. I’ve been really proud of the effort.”
Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.