Vegas Golden Knights clinch Pacific Division title

The Vegas Golden Knights will enter the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs as kings of the Pacific Division, clinching the divisional title on Wednesday night with a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on home ice. 

With the result, the Golden Knights brought their season points total to 93 points, the lowest total points of any division winner and a mark that would not crack the Stanley Cup Playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. 

While the total and the Pacific Division’s underwhelming 2025-26 across every team don’t instill confidence, it does provide a relatively simple path forward for the Golden Knights, as they look to advance to a third Stanley Cup final in franchise history. 

That pathway becomes even more feasible for the team now coached by veteran NHL bench boss John Tortorella, who has a 7-0-1 record in his first eight games after taking on the role as a late-season hire following the dismissal of Bruce Cassidy on March 29. 

On the ice, it has been a season of mixed results for Vegas’ star players. Jack Eichel, who won Olympic gold with the USA at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics, brought himself to 27 goals and 61 assists for a total of a team-high 88 points by the end of Wednesday’s game, while first-year Golden Knight Mitch Marner boasts a stat line of 23 goals and 56 assists for 79 points, second-highest on the team. 

With a rocky regular season now in the rearview mirror, the Golden Knights already have all eyes on the postseason, where they will hope for improved goaltending with each of Akira Schmid, Adin Hill and Carter Hart boasting save percentages below .900 heading into the season’s final clash. 

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to begin April 18, with Vegas facing the Utah Mammoth in their first-round series.