Golden Knights move closer to postseason spot with 6-3 win

LAS VEGAS — They held one of those reunion nights at T-Mobile Arena Thursday, even though it wasn’t an official promotion by the Vegas Golden Knights.


Zach Whitecloud returned to the place he had spent the first eight-plus years of his NHL career. Rasmus Andersson faced his former team for the first time. And Carter Hart got to play again for his old coach from Philadelphia.

Suffice to say, emotions were running high inside the Fortress, which will celebrate its 10th birthday come Monday, hard as that it is to believe. But while the past may have been celebrated, it’s the present which really was the most important item on the agenda as the Knights continued their push to secure a playoff spot.

By defeating Whitecloud and the Calgary Flames 6-3 on the strength of Mitch Marner’s hat trick and five-point performance, Vegas inched closer to locking down one of the eight Western Conference postseason berths. With 84 points, the Knights are still in third place in the Pacific Division, but just three points out of first as Edmonton and Anaheim are tied with 87 points each. The Ducks have a game in hand on both the Oilers and Knights.

“We found a way to win the game,” Tortorella said after both teams had to wait 26 minutes between the second and third period while the ice was repaired in the Calgary end. “We got three in the third period and we responded well.”

Hart, who last played in a game back on Jan. 8 before a lower-body injury sidelined him, was in net for Tortorella, whose trust issues with Hart appear stronger than with Adin Hill or Akira Schmid at the moment.

How that works out going forward, we shall see. Hart’s 12-game sample size since his return to the NHL following a near two-year hiatus has been a mixed bag. He’s looked good on occasions, a little unsteady in others.

Thursday, he had a lot of rust to shed, much like when he debuted for the Knights way back on Dec. 2 when he won his VGK debut against Chicago. And unlike earlier when Bruce Cassidy was in charge when he didn’t know if his performance was adequate, Hart need not worry. Torts will have his back always, at least publicly.

Andersson who was acquired for Whitecloud back in late January, has played better of late. He appears to be more confident and with Tortorella wanting his defensemen to join the rush and be part of the attack, that fits Andersson’s game better. Not that it comes at shirking his defensive responsibilities. He’s still going to have to block shots, a Tortorella staple, but take the body, clear opponents out from in front of the Vegas net and play the game smart.

Remember, he hasn’t signed an extension to remain a Golden Knight. So this final eight-game stretch with Torts as his coach is sort of a tryout for Andersson as well. If they hit it off and there’s a positive connection, perhaps they will remain united beyond July 1. A lot still has to happen for that to take place. But it certainly bears watching.

As for Whitecloud, being a fan favorite comes with added emotional baggage. We saw it with Marc-Andre Fleury. We saw it with Ryan Reaves and Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault. When you come back and they play that tribute video and the fans rise as one to salute you with a standing ovation, how can you not feel something special inside?

He was part of something special. He helped the Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2023. His story is an amazing one — undrafted coming out of Bemidji State, signing with an expansion team, growing with the franchise, falling in love with the community he lived in only to suffer the harsh business side of sport.

So when Whitecloud told reporters Wednesday that Las Vegas will always be home to him, believe him. I’m not sure he’s found a good bagel place in Calgary to match his regular visits to The Bagel Nook in Downtown Summerlin, a long stretch pass from City National Arena, but hopefully he’s going to settle in and help the Flames get back on their collective feet.

They’re building a new arena near the Scotiabank Saddledome, the 18,400-seat Scotia Place and Whitecloud figures to be around to break in the new barn when it opens in 2027. He’ll make himself part of the community there if he hasn’t already, particularly with the Indigenous population of Southern Alberta.

But Thursday was a chance to thank him for his time as a Golden Knight and the 17,912 that showed up at T-Mobile did just that during the break in the middle of the first period as the tribute video culminated with a standing ovation for him. It was the moment we’ve all been waiting for since the trade for Andersson was announced on Jan. 18.

As for the game, the Knights found themselves chasing things per usual and they got caught in some odd-man rushes after a few of their defensemen got caught pinching in the Calgary end.

“We’ve got to coach that out of them,” Tortorella said of the pinches that lead to the odd-man rushes. “We’re asking them to be aggressive and I’d rather coach a team that’s overly aggressive than to have to teach them to be aggressive.”

Tortorella said he wanted to use Marner in various ways and No. 93 responded with a pair of goals and an assist, while reuniting him with Jack Eichel and Mark Stone briefly in the second period. Pavel Dorofeyev, the team’s leading goal-scorer, chipped in with a power-play tally that tied it 3-3 late in the second. It was Dorofeyev’s 35th of the season, equaling his output from a year ago.

Marner was able to put a nice exclamation point on things when he beat Wolf with a wrap-around goal late. It was the fourth hat trick of his career. Stone, who assisted on the final goal, recorded his 700th career NHL point.

Hart? He was scored on the second shot he faced, as Morgan Frost beat him off a 2-on-1. He looked shaky at times, sharp at others and it was somewhat reminiscent of his Golden Knights debut in December against the Blackhawks. He would finish with 19 saves on 22 shots faced.

“He made some key saves at some key times,” Tortorella said of Hart.

But when it’s this late in the season and you’re fighting for a playoff spot, getting the two points are what ultimately matters. And for Vegas, they came into Thursday having outscored its opponents in the third period 94-57. So the Knights were comfortable being tied after 40 minutes.

Marner delivered as did Dorofeyev and Brett Howden to make sure the Knights got the much-needed pair of points.

“He’s a complete player,” Tortorella said of Marner. “He’s one of the top players in the league. He does a lot of things for us.”

Now it’s on the road for the Knights while the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four takes over T-Mobile next weekend. By the time the Knights return April 13 to host Winnipeg, they should know their postseason fate. Thursday’s win certainly helped their case to be in the playoffs.