Golden Knights clinch playoff spot, downing the Avalanche in OT

DENVER – It took the Vegas Golden Knights much longer than they would’ve liked to put that ‘x’ by their name.

This season has been anything but conventional. But they’re in the dance, and in a week, they’ll have their first partner.

Jack Eichel scored 1:19 into overtime, and the Knights clinched a playoff spot for the eighth time in nine years with a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Saturday.

Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews missed the net off a 2-on-1. Eichel gathered the puck, took it down the right side himself and sniped it past Mackenzie Blackwood on his own 2-on-1.

“Great effort by our group,” Eichel said. “I thought it was a great team effort to find a way to win. Our goal to begin the year was to get to the postseason, and here we are.”

Captain Mark Stone scored his third goal in two games, and Pavel Dorofeyev scored his career-high 36th goal of the season for the Knights (37-26-17), who finished 3-0-1 on their final road trip of the season.

Goaltender Carter Hart made 30 saves in his best performance as a member of the Knights and was a key reason why they’ve again leapfrogged the Edmonton Oilers for first place in the Pacific Division with two games to go.

“All these games here down the stretch are meaningful,” Hart said. “Once we got our legs under us, I thought we pressured them hard.”

The Knights could have clinched before their game ended, but the Nashville Predators’ 2-1 win over the Minnesota Wild put the Knights’ fate in their own hands.

They needed a win in any fashion over the top team in the NHL to secure a trip to the postseason.

Colorado (52-16-11) will have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs after clinching the Presidents’ Trophy on Thursday.

It wasn’t the prettiest journey to get there for the Knights.

A penalty-ridden first period, followed by a back-and-forth second period with neither team securing momentum.

Even Hart had to shake off two fortuitous Colorado goals — the first bouncing off his chest and in, and the second hitting the post, then his back, then in — to give the Knights a chance.

He was busy all night, but made key stops along the way, including a crucial left-pad save on Nathan MacKinnon with 3:49 to go.

“We’re probably not there in overtime if it wasn’t for some of the tremendous saves by our goaltender,” Eichel said. “I think he was our best player tonight. Credit to him.”

Colorado, with a surprising 26th-ranked power play, opened the scoring at 9:17. Hart got a piece of Toews’ point shot, but couldn’t make the full save as it bounced off him and in the net.

Stone converted on the Knights’ second power play of the period, using elite hand-eye coordination to bat down a deflected puck, settle it down at 13:44 to tie it 1-1.

The Toews goal was the only blemish on Hart’s strong period, stopping 14 of 15 shots.

After the Knights killed Colorado’s third power play, Dorofeyev put the Knights up 2-1 at 2:09 of the second on a one-timer from the left circle.

Colorado defenseman Nick Blankenburg tied it at 10:56 when his point shot hit off the left post, bounced off Hart’s back and in.

The Knights fell victim to the bad bounce Thursday in Seattle. They overcame it this time.

“It’s a seasoned group,” said coach John Tortorella, who improved to 5-0-1 since he taking over on March 29. “They don’t get rattled.”

The Knights wrap up the season with two more home games, starting Monday against the Winnipeg Jets.

There’s plenty left to play for. The vibes are high. They’re in the dance. Now the fun begins.

“I’m the fortunate one to come into a group like this that’s pretty much ready,” Tortorella said. “We got some sickness in that room. Some tired guys. They stuck with it tonight and found a way.”