Golden Knights and Mammoth surge into 1st-round meeting as the NHL playoffs reset the stakes

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Vegas and Utah head into their first-round meeting playing well at just the right time, and while some elements could carry over, the way games play out in the NHL playoffs are far different from the regular season. Matchups often become much more important than whatever supposed momentum a club takes into the postseason. The Pacific Division champion Golden Knights, (minus)-190 favorites according to oddsdmakers, host the Western Conference No. 1 wild-card Mammoth in Game 1 on Sunday night in their best-of-seven series. Vegas closed the season by going 7-0-1 under coach John Tortorella after he replaced Bruce Cassidy on March 29. “I'm not really a big believer in momentum,” Golden Knights center Jack Eichel said. “I think every game and shift has a life history of its own. I think you can take some things away from the way we've been playing for sure and what's made us successful. But that's the beautiful thing about the playoffs. Everyone's slate is completely clean, and every night you have to prove yourself.” Utah went 6-2 before ending the regular season with a 5-3 loss to St. Louis, a game played after the Mammoth's playoff seeding and matchup were decided. “We’re a very confident team right now," Mammoth wing Clayton Keller said. "I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, lots of excitement, and great for our group to get into the playoffs and feel that.”

Andersson's comfort level grows

Rasmus Andersson spent his first nine-plus seasons in Calgary, so he had to get used to a lot of change when the Golden Knights traded for him in January. And it showed. He scored one goal in his first 17 games. Andersson then began to show why the Golden Knights made the move. He ended the regular season with six goals in 16 games. “That's what happens with time, right?” Andersson said. “It gets better and better. You get to learn your teammates more. You feel more and more comfortable with each day.” Reuniting with his former defensive partner, Noah Hanifin, eased the transition. They were often paired together in their six seasons as Flames teammates, and have been matched up next to each 23 times with the Golden Knights, according to SinBin.vegas. “He was probably the first guy to call after the trade,” Andersson said. “Just the familiarity is there. It obviously took us a few games to kind of get to know each other again, and he was used to something different here. The last 10 or 15 games, I think we've played well with one another.”

Schmidt excited in return to Vegas

Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt is used to be in this position, having helped Florida win its second straight Stanley Cup last season. The gregarious veteran also was a fan favorite in Vegas as a member of the Golden Knights' first three teams that included the inaugural one in the 2017-18 season that made the Stanley Cup Final. Schmidt laughed when saying there is no preparing for the kind of atmosphere that is expected to greet the Mammoth in Las Vegas, but noted he and his teammates “deserve to be here.” “I played there in the playoffs,” Schmidt said. "I played for that team in the playoffs. It's a rowdy atmosphere. It's fun. It's exciting. I look at it like a positive. It's so much fun to be a part of. You want that. You'd much rather it be deafeningly loud than be quiet. It's going to be a fun Game 1. "The guys are going to be looking around and the bench is going to be rumbling. The music will be playing in warmups and all the stuff they've got going on. It's a show. They do a great job."

Golden Knights could go with big-name top line

Tortorella has practiced this week a No. 1 line that includes Eichel, Mitch Marner and Mark Stone — the Golden Knights' three leading points producers. Eichel has centered a top line with Stone and Ivan Barbashev much of the season, with Marner often playing center or wing on the second line. “I'm not sure if it works,” Tortorella said. “I'm not sure if I stay with it. I'd like to see it work. Do we start with it tomorrow? I don't know. Very intelligent players. Sometimes when you put big-point guys together, they forget about the other side of the puck. I don’t have to worry about that for a second with these guys.”

Keller making teammates better

Keller has registered an assist in his final 10 games of the regular season to join Minnesota’s Quinn Hughes and the New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin with such a streak Keller’s 16 assists over that 10-game span are the most in the NHL, giving him a career-high 62 this season. \\\_ AP freelance writer John Coon in Salt Lake City contributed to this report. \\\_ AP NHL: