The Vegas Golden Knights were the first team to advance to Round Two of the playoffs this year. Since they defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in just five games in Round One, the Golden Knights now have a few days of rest before the start of Round Two. However, since the remaining teams are still battling for a spot in the next round, the Golden Knights are left to wonder who their next opponent will be.
Possible Opponents
After the Round Robin games and the Qualifying Round, the Western Conference Seeding looked like this:
Vegas Golden Knights #1
Colorado Avalanche #2
Dallas Stars #3
St. Louis Blues #4
Vancouver Canucks #5
Calgary Flames #6
Arizona Coyotes #7
Chicago Blackhawks #8
As usual in the playoffs, the highest seed has the advantage of playing the lowest seed, with the next highest playing the next lowest, and so on. After each round the teams that advance are re-seeded. Since the Knights knocked off the Chicago Blackhawks, their next opponent would be the next lowest on the list above, providing they make it to the next round.
The Colorado Avalanche have already sent the Arizona Coyotes home, so now only the Flames, Canucks, and Blues are possible VGK opponents. If any one of those teams advance to round two, we would play which ever team had the lowest seeding from the qualifying rounds (see the list above).
Here are the current standings in Round One:
Vegas Golden Knights #1, sent home Chicago.
Colorado Avalanche #2, sent home Arizona.
Dallas Stars #3 lead 3-2 against the Calgary Flames #6.
St. Louis Blues #4 are down 2-3 against the Vancouver Canucks #5.
When Will We Know?
The last game, if needed, for Round One is on Sunday, Aug. 23rd. However, if the Stars and the Canucks both win their next games, then fans will know the next VGK opponent as early as Friday (in which case it would be Vancouver Canucks).