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. Nyman found Shane Wright all alone in front of the net, and Wright fired it home.

Jani Nyman beats Lauzon to the puck and finds Shane Wright alllllll alone in front of the net.

1-0, Kraken

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— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 16, 2026

The Golden Knights netted the equalizer at 17:35 in the second. Nic Dowd won the offensive zone draw, and Shea Theodore beat Nikke Kokko with a shot through Reilly Smith’s screen.

Nic Dowd with the face off win, Reilly Smith with the screen, Theodore with the snipe.

1-1

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— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 16, 2026

Finally, the ice opened up in the third period. The Golden Knights outshot the Kraken 12-4 and controlled 91.39% of the expected goal share. They also generated nine high-danger scoring chances while not allowing Seattle to manage a single one.

The Golden Knights took their first lead of the night just 1:23 into the third period off another face-off play. Jack Eichel won the offensive zone draw back to Brayden McNabb, who walked the line and fired a shot on goal. As McNabb’s shot came through, Mitch Marner redirected it home from the slot.

Brayden McNabb with the shot, Mitch Marner with the surgical redirection!

2-1, Golden Knights

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— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 16, 2026

The Golden Knights extended their lead at 12:01 in the third. Jack Eichel capitalized on a blown coverage in the offensive zone and set up a two-on-one. Rasmus Anderson got the pass across for Reilly Smith, who slammed a fluttering puck into the empty net.

Reilly Smith scores on a two-on-one and Lane Lambert looks like he is NOT having a good time tonight.#SeaKraken pic.twitter.com/AFrjfNNcN7
— 𝘿𝙖𝙫𝙮 𝙅𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨' 𝙇𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙤𝙤𝙢 (@DavyJonesLR) April 16, 2026

The Golden Knights added another on a delayed penalty at 16:36. Tomáš Hertl fired a shot on goal; Kaedan Korczak, who was parked atop the crease, whacked at the rebound. The puck came loose, and Reilly Smith banged in his second of the night from the goal line.

Kaedan Korczak is in front of the net whacking at Tomáš Hertl’s rebound, and Reilly Smith scores his second of the night on the delayed penalty.

4-1, Golden Knights

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— Hannah Kirkell (@h_kirk6) April 16, 2026

Nothing this year has been easy for the Golden Knights, and this game was no different.

“We just slowly went about our business and finally found our game,” said head coach John Tortorella following the 4-1 win. “You’d almost want to play one of those before the playoffs, if you knew the result was going to be a win– they don’t like being in it when it’s going on. But give our guys a lot of credit, they stayed with it and just kept on playing. They’ve grabbed hold of it. We have found some consistency, and they feel more and more comfortable with it.”

Three Takeaways of the Knight

1. Despite playing without much intensity in the first period, the Golden Knights entered the first intermission tied at zero. Despite having nothing to play for, the Kraken took advantage of Vegas’ uninspired play and shelled Carter Hart in the first period. Shea Theodore raved about his goaltender postgame:

“He’s been great,” Theodore said following the 4-1 win. “He’s been so solid. I think we’ve given up too many chances, but he’s been big back there. He’s been a backbone ever since he came back.”

2. The team is fully bought in right now, and no one embodies that more than Reilly Smith. He’s been in and out of the lineup for a chunk of the season, but he’s never let that affect his work ethic or attitude around the locker room.

“We have high expectations, and we try to live that every day,” said Smith after his two-goal performance. “Through the organization, the players, everyone, tries to live up to that level. Every day we’re at the rink, we don’t accept losing, and I think the last couple of weeks are a good testament to that.”

3. And with that, the 2026 regular season comes to a close for the Vegas Golden Knights. They’ll kick off the postseason this weekend at home against the Utah Mammoth.

When asked if he had any early thoughts about their playoff opponent, John Tortorella simply replied:

“Nope.”

That’s all, folks!

Jamie Oleksiak

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