In Las Vegas, the Golden Knights too a 4-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night to maintain their lead atop the Pacific Division.
Reilly Smith had a goal in the Vegas win.
“(Playing a meaningful game Thursday) is good for us,” Smith said. “Sometimes, you take foot off the gas and start the playoffs maybe a step behind. There’s no reason for that. A lot on the line. I’m looking forward to the game Thursday.”
Michael Amadio scored the first of his double on the night, in the opening stanza for a 1-0 lad to the Knights.
“I put myself at a bad angle. At the same time, I saw ‘Ammo’ drifting in backdoor,” Smith said. ” … It hit a couple skates and sticks, and fortunately it landed on his stick.”
Yanni Gourde was the lone striker for the Kraken, his first period goal tied the game, 1-1.
Seattle lost a chance to tie the Los Angeles Kings for the third spot in the Pacific Division.
“We’re not happy with the result; not a lot energy tonight,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “We had a good burst for probably the first 15, 16 minutes. We just couldn’t find any energy in the second and third. They played well. They were on top of us. They didn’t give us a lot of time and space. When you’re a half-step slow and not a ton of energy, it was a tough night to generate anything with the puck.”
Laurent Brossoit made 20 saves in the Golden Knights win.
Vegas moved to 50-22-9.
Amadio and Smith scored in the middle frame to give the Golden Knights a 3-1 advantage headed to the third.
“You need that element of [crashing the net],” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “When Ammo’s done it, he’s been rewarded. It’s just a reminder to do it every day. Ammo comes up as a junior guy and minor pro, he’s the guy making the play to the guy to the net. Now the shoe’s on the other foot. So, he has to be that guy who goes there, and he’ s bought into it well.
“Give him credit for changing what he has to do to complement a line.”
Jonathan Marchessault scored on a two-skater advantage in the third for the 4-1 final.
“We’re trending in the right direction right,” Smith said. “Obviously, important with playoffs right around the corner. It’s good for us, playing teams that are competitive right now.
“We have another tough game against Seattle coming up. We have no reason to take our foot off the gas, so it’s good for this group. We’re having different people scoring and different people contributing on a nightly basis. Hopefully we have a lot of steam going into the playoffs.”
Joey Daccord made 33 saves in the loss.
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