LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Stanley Cup Playoffs are almost upon us, and the Vegas Golden Knights appear to yet again be strong contenders.
With their ticket already punched for the franchise's seventh postseason appearance in eight years, the 2023 Stanley Cup champions have also clinched home ice for the first round.
Channel 13's Nick Walters went one-on-one with Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy at City National Arena on Friday.
FULL INTERVIEW | Hear Cassidy's thoughts on building momentum for a playoff push, trying to get to full health when it matters most, how this season has differed from the last, and the motivation to go for a second Stanley Cup in three years:
"It feels so good the first time, you want to repeat it," Cassidy said.
With a win in Saturday night's home finale against the Nashville Predators (which will be original misfit Jonathan Marchessault's return to the Fortress), the Knights would secure their fourth all-time Pacific Division title and a one-seed.
Neck-and-neck with the Dallas Stars for second place in the Western Conference standings, the VGK have surpassed 100 standing points for the third season as a franchise. The previous two times resulted in trips to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018 and 2023.
Last year in Vegas' Stanley Cup encore season, the Knights fell to the Stars in a hard-fought seven-game first-round series, which was followed by an offseason full of roster turnover.
A new-look VGK team is now seemingly on the verge of making another deep run.