The Western Conference playoff matchups were up in the air until the final buzzer sounded on the NHL’s regular season on Thursday night.
The matchups flip-flopped in a matter of minutes, all happening well after midnight on the East Coast, and eventually landed on two rematches from last year’s playoffs.
The Anaheim Ducks’ surprising 4-1 win over Vegas dropped the Golden Knights into the final wild-card spot, setting up a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Final with the Dallas Stars, but that was in question until the final moments of the game between the Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks in Los Angeles.
The Kings looked to be in complete control, leading by two goals entering the third period, but Cam Talbot gave up three goals on four shots early in that frame to put Chicago up 4-3. A regulation loss would’ve sent L.A. to Dallas for the first-ever postseason meeting between the sides, but that didn’t last.
L.A.’s Viktor Arvidsson scored a power-play goal with 1:21 left in regulation to force overtime, earning the Kings a point and securing third place in the Pacific and setting up yet another first-round matchup with Edmonton. This is the third straight season the Kings and Oilers will face off in the postseason. Edmonton won the last two series, and three of four meetings in the regular season.
The playoffs will begin Saturday, with the full schedule still to be announced.
It was a wild night of hockey, in which gutsy performances by two of the conference’s worst teams played a major role in the postseason matchups. Frank Vatrano was the hero for Anaheim, scoring a hat trick to end the year on a high note.
The Golden Knights will now face Dallas for the third time in five years. The Stars topped Vegas in 2020 to reach the Stanley Cup Final, and Vegas returned the favor on its way to the Cup last summer. It will be the fourth time the Golden Knights have gone against coach Pete DeBoer in the postseason. He was behind the Vegas bench for the 2020 series against Dallas.
The other two series in the West were already set prior to Thursday. Vancouver fell to Winnipeg 4-2, but had already clinched the Pacific Division title. Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko stopped 22 of 25 shots in his second game since returning from injury. Vancouver will face the top wild-card team, Nashville, while the Jets will have home ice in their series against Colorado.
The first-round matchups in the Eastern Conference were set on Tuesday: Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals, and Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders.
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(Photo: Jeff Bottari / NHLI via Getty Images)
