Golden Knights’ dream seeding, matchup scenarios for 2026 NHL Playoffs

The Vegas Golden Knights have not had the kind of season that they anticipated or their fans expected. The Golden Knights have been an ideal franchise since they came into existence as an expansion team in the 2017-18 season as they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in that first season.

The Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023 under head coach Bruce Cassidy, but this year’s team was going along in fits and starts and the team found itself in third place in the Pacific Division behind the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers. As the team struggled on a nightly basis, the hard-nosed Cassidy was fired because it seemed that his players had tuned out his message.

Instead of bringing in a more user-friendly coach, the Golden Knights appeared to make a desperation move by hiring John Tortorella. If Cassidy is considered a coach who is demanding or his players, Tortorella wrote the book on the subject. The years have not mellowed him, although he has gained a new perspective on the sidelines during the past year.

Tortorella has acknowledged that today’s players are different than they were 10 and 20 years ago. The Golden Knights have won their first three games under Tortorella and instead of trying to hang on to third place in the Pacific Division, they have a solid chance to win the Pacific Division.

First place is beckoning for the Golden Knights

After beating the Oilers 5-1 Saturday night in Edmonton, the Golden Knights have 86 points. That’s just one point behind the Ducks and Oilers. All three of the teams have five games remaining, and the VGK has a favorable schedule with two games remaining against the Seattle Kraken and single games remaining against the Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche. They will be favored in four of those games, and they could get a break in Saturday’s game at Colorado because the Avs may be resting players if they have secured the Presidents Trophy.

If the Golden Knights continue their surge and end up in first place in the Pacific, they will have a first-round matchup with the surprising Utah Mammoth. While many of the teams in the playoff structure have been scrambling to determine their postseason position, the Mammoth appear to have been locked into the No. 1 Wild Card spot for several weeks.

The former Arizona Coyotes have found some stability in their second season in Utah, and they deserve to be taken seriously. They have a core of solid performers who border on stardom in Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Dylan Guenther and defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Keller leads the team with 25 goals and 53 assists for 78  points, while Schmaltz and Guenther are close behind with 68 and 67 points, respectively. Guenther leads the team with 38 goals.

Avoiding Oilers in first round would be an advantage for Vegas

The Mammoth will scrap hard to push the Golden Knights to the limit, but this is a favorable matchup for Vegas. Instead of facing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the first round of the playoffs without having home-ice advantage, they will get an opponent that is trying to prove itself.

The Golden Knights are starting to play much better hockey, and their core players Jack Eichel (25 goals, 82 points), Mitch Marner (23 goals, 77 points), Mark Stone (67 points) and Pavel Dorofeyev (35 goals, 61 points) may just make the most of the opportunity if they rise to the top of the division. Predicting a sweep in any playoff series is usually not advisable, but the veteran VGK could take care of business in five games against the Mammoth.

Facing Ducks would also be favorable for VGK

If the Golden Knights can’t overtake the Oilers in the Pacific, they would also have another favorable first-round matchup against the Ducks. Anaheim has improved dramatically under head coach Joel Quenneville, but they have slumped considerably in late March and early April. They appeared secure in first place for multiple weeks after the Olympic break, but the Ducks are 0-4-1 in their last five games.

If the Ducks can come out of their funk by the start of the playoffs, they could be a challenging opponent behind Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson and Beckett Sennecke. However, it would still be an excellent matchup for the Golden Knights. Anaheim has not made the playoffs since the 2017-18 season.

Vegas is a talented and experienced team that has won the Stanley Cup three years ago. They appear to be hitting their stride after making the questionable move of firing their coach with less than three weeks to go in the season. That move appears to be working and this team that has struggled for the majority of the season may be able to become a team that has eye-catching success in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

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