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

The Vegas Golden Knights appear to have regained their stride as they head down the home stretch of the regular season. They have reeled off three consecutive victories since Bruce Cassidy was fired and old-school mentor John Tortorella was hired to stand behind the bench and serve as the team’s coach.

Tortorella comes with something of a reputation. He is a disciplinarian who will call out his players and tell them what he thinks of them when they don’t perform up to expectations. The game has changed dramatically over the years and players don’t usually react well to the kind of methods that Tortorella has employed throughout the majority of his career, but the Golden Knights are at least responding in the short term.

Will they be able to survive and advance when the playoffs get underway? That may depend on two factors. The first is something that Tortorella may not be able to do anything about. There have been significant questions about the Vegas goaltending throughout the season. This is an area where the VGK has fallen short all season long.

The Golden Knights have started Carter Hart in goal in their most recent two games. He got the job done without incident in a routine 6-3 victory over the Calgary Flames and then gave a surprising performance in a 5-1 road victory over the Edmonton Oilers with 31 saves over Connor McDavid & Co. One excellent game does not a trend make, but there is hope that the team’s dreadful goaltending can turn around.

Golden Knights could face a fearful first-round matchup

The Golden Knights appear to headed to the playoffs even though they have been disappointing throughout the season. That’s because they play in the “pillow fight” Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Suddenly, their 86-point total has them just one point out of first place behind the Oilers and the Anaheim Ducks.

The Ducks have been one of the most surprising teams in the NHL throughout the majority of the season. They appeared to have a firm grip on first place in the division through the majority of the season, but a recent slump have allowed the Oilers to catch them. If the standings remain the same with five games remaining, the Oilers will hold onto the division title with the Ducks in second place and the VGK in third place.

That would be acceptable to Jack Eichel (team-leading 82 points), Mitch Marner (77 points), Mark Stone (67 points) and Pavel Dorofeyev (35 goals, 61 points). They would be favored in that matchup even though the VGK would not have home-ice advantage.

McDavid, Oilers appear to be on their way

However, if the Ducks were able to move ahead of the Oilers and take first place, the third place Golden Knights would match up with the Oilers. Edmonton has recently been playing its best hockey of the season before their recent loss to Vegas. The Oilers had won five straight games prior to that defeat. The Oilers have the game’s best player in McDavid and are likely to have Leon Draisaitl (lower-body injury) back in the lineup for the start of the playoffs.

Edmonton is all about playoff hockey. The Oilers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals each of the past two years, and they can overcome a mediocre regular season with another stellar postseason run. The Golden Knights are not going to say anything publicly about how much easier the Ducks would be in the first round than the Oilers, but that is exactly the case.

Vegas could find a way to beat Anaheim in five games in a first-round matchup, but meeting the Oilers would be a major uphill climb. Despite the recent win over the Oilers, Vegas has been pummeled in recent games against McDavid & Co.  Edmonton won last year’s playoff matchup in five games over the Oilers, and Edmonton has won 9 of the last 11 meetings between the two teams.

VGK may face Oilers in the second round

Even if the Golden Knights can avoid the Oilers in the first round, it seems quite likely that the two teams will catch up with each other in the second round. If Edmonton wins the division, the Oilers would face the Utah Mammoth in the first round. The No. 1 Western Conference wild card team could offer some resistance, but the Oilers would likely survive in five or six games.

That would lead to a matchup between the Golden Knights and Ducks in the first round. That matchup likely belongs to the VGK. The dreaded matchup with the Oilers would come next for Eichel, Marner and Stone.

Even if the Golden Knights finish in first place and matchup with the Mammoth, they would meet the Oilers in the second round. Vegas would have home ice in that series, but it might not be enough to earn a victory in that series.

Any playoff matchup with Edmonton would likely be the undoing and a nightmare for the Golden Knights.

The post Golden Knights’ nightmare seeding, matchup scenarios for 2026 NHL Playoffs appeared first on ClutchPoints.