LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Now that the Vegas Golden Knights have clinched a playoff spot, all eyes are turning to the post-season.
The team says they're ready to flip a "playoff switch" in hopes of making another run at the Stanley Cup.
Channel 13's Nick Walters went one-on-one with Bruce Cassidy and Ivan Barbashev with more on why the team believes they have what it takes to make another deep run.
"We went through it last year," Cassidy said on the team being bombarded by injuries up and down the lineup through the season. "We lost Mark Stone for a stretch. I think Jack (Eichel) was out for a while. Goaltenders we went through, probably lost four of them. So I think it's baked into this team. The 'Original Misfits' went through a lot of adversity just finding their footing in the National Hockey League."
"Collectively as this particular group, like I said, we went through it last year and we had a great result last year," Cassidy continued. "Guys do know how the ending can play out. They should also realize that every year is a different year. If you want the ending to be the same you got to make sure you're making the same sacrifices and playing the right way and that's the challenge for every team this time of year."
WATCH FULL INTERVIEW: Ivan Barbashev tells Channel 13 how he's preparing for playoffs
"It's going to be up to us, the players," Barbashev said. "If we really want to, we're going to go deep. "I've been there probably every single year in the playoffs. Some of them were good. Some of them were bad. I think our team is really experienced. We have a lot of great leaders and especially when the team gets healthier, that's going to help us as well."
The Vegas Golden Knights will be taking on the Dallas Stars in the first round.
Game 1 is scheduled for Monday and the puck is set to drop at 6:30 p.m. PT.