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Golden Knights earn West’s top seed; Avalanche settle for second spot

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Vegas picked up the top seed in the Western Conference after Alex Tuch's OT winner pushed them past Colorado, who settle for the second seed.

Despite a bumpy regular season that included a coaching change, the Golden Knights enter the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the top seed in the Western Conference after beating the Avalanche 4-3 in overtime. Alex Tuch scored the game-winner for the Golden Knights.

[NBC 2020 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF HUB]

Golden Knights win West top seed; Round-robin, NHL playoff matchup updates

With that, the Golden Knights take on the Blackhawks, while the Avalanche face the Coyotes in the First Round.

If you want more top-seed action, you’re in luck on Saturday. We’ll also see which team will claim the top spot in the East, as the Flyers joust with the Lightning. (You can watch on NBC at 8 p.m. ET; stream it live here).

While the Avalanche and Golden Knights determined the top two seeds in the West, Sunday’s round-robin game will determine spots three and four. The same will happen for the East’s third and fourth seeds, while Sunday also presents Game 5 of the exhilarating Blue Jackets - Maple Leafs series.

The eight-seed Flames take on the winner of Blues - Stars, while the seventh-seed Canucks face the loser of Blues - Stars.

Here’s that Alex Tuch OT-GWG:

Updated NHL Round-robin standings (ties broken by regular-season points percentage)

EAST
Top seed: Flyers (3-0-0, 6 points) Philadelphia will face Canadiens in First Round
Second seed: Lightning (2-1-0, 4 points) Tampa Bay will face winner of Game 5 CBJ - TOR
Capitals (0-1-1, 1 point)
Bruins (0-2-0, 0 points)

WEST
Top Seed: Golden Knights (3-0-0, 6 points); Vegas faces Blackhawks in First Round
Second Seed: Avalanche (2-0-1, 5 points); Colorado faces Coyotes in First Round
Blues (0-2-0, 0 points)
Stars (0-2-0, 0 points)

SUNDAY‘S NHL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

Round-robin: Bruins vs. Capitals, 12 p.m. ET – NBCSN
Round-robin: Stars vs. Blues, 3 p.m. ET – NBC
Game 5: Blue Jackets vs. Maple Leafs, 8 p.m. ET – NBCSN

Some Golden Knights - Avs notes


  • Ryan Reaves helped set a nasty tone -- at least by round-robin standards. It wasn’t “playoff-level,” but the Avs and Golden Knights brought a greater energy to this one. Not shocking with home-ice advantage on the line, but noteworthy.
  • Nathan MacKinnon displayed passion -- maybe too much. He received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which preceded a Vegas power play goal. Naturally, MacKinnon redeemed himself by ... being Nathan MacKinnon.
  • Interestingly, Robin Lehner started for the Golden Knights, not Marc-Andre Fleury. Lehner played in two of the three round-robin games. This doesn’t guarantee that Peter DeBoer leans toward Lehner being the starter for Game 1, yet it gives that impression.
  • Alex Tuch scored the overtime game-winner after a nice defensive play by Mark Stone. Tuch had a nice round-robin run, and could be crucial to Vegas, especially if Max Pacioretty continues to be “unfit to play.”

MORE:
2020 NHL Stanley Cup Qualifiers schedule


James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.