Eichel scores in OT, Golden Knights clinch playoff berth with win against Avalanche

DENVER -- Jack Eichel scored at 1:19 of overtime, and the Vegas Golden Knights clinched a berth into the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 3-2 victory against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Saturday.

“We knew coming in, with a win, that we were in. So it was a great effort by our group tonight,” Eichel said. “Our goal at the beginning of the year was to get to the postseason, and here we are.”

Eichel skated into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 and buried a wrist shot from the right face-off circle over Mackenzie Blackwood's right pad shortly after Devon Toews’ shot hit the knob of Carter Hart’s stick and went wide on a 2-on-1 the other way.

“Just an incredible save by ‘Hartsy’ down one end, and puck squirted out,” Eichel said. “I think he was probably playing pass a little, (Nathan MacKinnon) was, and (I) just decided to shoot one. So it was good to see that one go in, and big win for our group, but we're probably not there in overtime if it wasn't for some of the tremendous saves by our goaltender. So I think he was our best player tonight, and credit to him.”

Mark Stone and Pavel Dorofeyev each scored for the Golden Knights (37-26-17), who extended their point streak to eight games (5-0-3) and finished a four-game road trip 3-0-1. Hart made 30 saves.

Vegas moved one point ahead of the Edmonton Oilers for first in the Pacific Division.

“I'm the fortunate one to come into a group like this that's pretty much ready,” said Golden Knights coach John Tortorella, who replaced Bruce Cassidy on March 30. “I really respect how they handled themselves on this road trip. We’ve got some sickness in that room, some tired guys. They stuck with it tonight, and found a way.

“You do start looking at the standings a little bit with a couple games left. I won't lie. Just nice to say we're in right now, and we’ll go back and try to find a way in our division.”

Toews and Nick Blankenburg each scored for the Avalanche (52-16-11), who are 3-2-1 in their past six. Blackwood made 26 saves.

Colorado, which clinched the top seed in the Western Conference and won the Central Division title with a 3-1 win against the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, also clinched the Presidents’ Trophy with a 3-1 win against the Calgary Flames at Ball Arena on Thursday.

“We were OK. We've kind of solidified our position there, so you fight that a little bit with trying to stay sharp as we move forward here through the next few games,” Colorado assistant coach Nolan Pratt said. “I thought we did enough to generate a couple more goals potentially, but when you get to overtime, we miss an opportunity with 'Toewser' that probably was in if it doesn't catch the knob of his stick, and then they capitalize going the other way. 

“So there's some good things in there, but it's more about us just trying to stay sharp now as we move through these last few.”

Toews gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 9:17 of the first period. He collected a pass from Brock Nelson at the point and sent a wrist shot on net that squeaked through the body and left arm of Hart.

“It comes down to still playing with good habits, and still sticking to our game as much as we possibly can,” Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “ There was good and there was also not so good. I mean, there are things we can definitely improve on, but overall, competitive game.”

Stone tied it 1-1 while on a power play at 13:47. Mitch Marner's wrist shot from the blue line was deflected by Tomas Hertl and fluttered to the front of the net, where Stone knocked it down between his legs out of midair and lifted a backhander over Blackwood's blocker.

“It was a heck of a goal. He's been scoring goals for us like that all season, and, yeah, it was a big goal for us,” Eichel said. “Obviously, we got one back there after they got one on the power play. So, yeah, it was a great goal. It was a timely one and a big one for our group. 'Stoney's' been awesome. He's been scoring a lot of timely goals for us and big ones.”

Dorofeyev put Vegas ahead 2-1 at 2:09 of the second period with a one-timer from the left circle into the top right corner.

Blankenburg evened the score 2-2 at 10:56 after his wrist shot from the blue line hit off the left post and then bounced off Hart's back and into the net.

“When things go in, it happens. It's hockey. You just got to refocus, reset, and be ready for the next one,” Hart said. “Right now, (it’s) one day at a time. Can't get ahead of ourselves here. We got two more games here to finish off the year.”

MacKinnon skated around Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore in the left circle and powered to the net, but Hart denied him with a left pad save to keep the game tied with 3:47 left.

Colorado coach Jared Bednar left the game in the third period after being hit in the face with a deflected puck, and defenseman Josh Manson left the game at 17:17 of the second period with an upper-body injury and didn’t return. There was no update on Manson postgame.

“He took a puck to the right cheek. He's fully alert, fully conscious,” Avalanche vice president, media and player relations Brendan McNicholas said about Bednar postgame. “He is going to go to a local hospital to get a CT scan just for further evaluation.”

Pratt said, “Certainly a little unnerving, right? It's scary when the pucks are flying in there. It happens all the time, and unfortunate tonight.”

NOTES: Eichel tied David Perron (three in 2017-18) and Theodore (three in 2021-22) for the second-most overtime goals in a single season by a Golden Knights player, behind Max Pacioretty (four in 2020-21). ... Dorofeyev set a new career high for goals in a season with 36, besting his previous high of 35 he set during the 2024-25 season. ... Eichel scored his sixth overtime goal with Vegas and tied Pacioretty for the third-most in franchise history. ... Vegas became the fourth franchise in NHL history to reach the postseason at least eight times in its first nine campaigns (Edmonton: nine, New York Rangers: nine and St. Louis: eight). ... Toews scored his 54th career goal and passed Jeff Brown (53) for the eighth-most among defensemen in Avalanche/Nordiques history.