Vegas Headed To Western Conference Finals

Good morning and happy Monday, May 15th.

With only one game last night and all 7 goals featured in our daily ‘NHL Last Night’ video, there is no Top Shelf Highlights section today but still plenty of other news and content to enjoy. 👊

Today’s lineup:

• Vegas eliminates Edmonton in game 6

• Dallas hosts Seattle for game 7 tonight

• NHL announces Hart Trophy finalists

• And a lot more 👇

When it comes to Vegas Golden Knights playoff history, Jonathan Marchessault has literally seen it all.

Marchessault has played in all 77 Vegas NHL playoff games because he delivers like he did Sunday night. The veteran forward registered the first “natural” hat trick in the team’s history in the Golden Knights’ series-clinching 5-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers.

The Golden Knights have now reached the final four of the Stanley Cup tournament four times since their inaugural season of 2017-18. Vegas will play the winner of tonight’s Seattle vs. Dallas Game 7 in the Western Conference Final.

Marchessault scored three consecutive goals in the second period.

Like Marchessault, Karlsson is an original Vegas player. Karlsson contributed an empty-net goal to the wing. Reilly Smith, another original Golden Knight, scored 24 seconds into the game.

Goalie Adin Hill, an injury replacement since Game 3, made 39 saves in the clincher. He had never been in the NHL playoffs before this season. Now he has a 2.19 goals-against average and .934 save percentage.

The Golden Knights have been a model expansion team. They sell out their arena. Their merchandise flies off the shelf. And who doesn’t want to go to Vegas?

And they’ve been a huge competitive success. Since 2017-18, they’ve won nine playoff series. That’s the second most by any team in its first six seasons of NHL existence. Only the Edmonton Oilers, who came from the World Hockey Association, had more (12).

Since 2018, the Tampa Bay Lightning are the only NHL team with more playoff series wins than the Golden Knights.

7️⃣ The Dallas Stars host the Seattle Kraken for game 7 tonight to see who faces Vegas in the Western Conference Finals. The Seattle Kraken forced a game 7 grudge match with a 6-3 win Saturday night thanks to goals from Yanni Gourde, Jordan Eberle (2), Eeli Tolvanen, Tye Kartye, and Matty Beniers. Dallas Stars’ head coach Peter DeBoer hopes to extend his perfect 6-0 game 7 record tonight, having coached the Devils, Sharks, and Golden Knights to game 7 victories. Seattle’s head coach Dave Hakstol is 1-0 in game 7 appearances. Seattle holds a slight 25-24 goal advantage in the series. Jake Oettinger and Philipp Grubauer are expected to start between the pipes.

🏆 NHL announces McDavid, Pastrnak, and Tkachuk as 2023 Hart Trophy Finalists. The trophy is awarded annually to the NHL player voted most valuable to his team by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

• Connor McDavid, a two-time Hart winner and five-time finalist, led the NHL in scoring for the third straight season with 153 points.

• David Pastrnak, a first-time finalist, finished second in the NHL with 61 goals and tied with Nikita Kucherov for third in points (113).

• Matthew Tkachuk, a first-time finalist, collected 40 goals while setting a new career-high with 109 points and leading the Panthers in a number of stats including penalty minutes (123).

What NHL coach holds the all-time record for most game 7 wins?

• Tolvanen, Kartye providing lift for Kraken ahead of Game 7 against Stars

• First look at Eastern Conference finals

• Hurricanes face decisions in net with Andersen, Raanta healthy for East final

• Panthers continue wild playoff ride to East Final against Hurricanes

• Inside Chandler Stephenson's rise to stardom with the Golden Knights

• What should Maple Leafs do with their core? Analyzing seven important contract scenarios

• Three key moves the Philadelphia Flyers should make

• Bruins' Hathaway makes clean grab of foul ball at Fenway Park

• U.S. beats Hungary, Canada tops Slovenia at hockey worlds

• Connor Bedard: the numbers behind the hype

• Four drills to master angling

• Create more time and space with this quick o-zone entry play

TRIVIA ANSWER

Darryl Sutter holds the NHL’s all time head coach record for game 7 wins with 8