Golden Knights win the Pacific Division title, beating the Kraken 4-1

Q: How did the Vegas Golden Knights win the Pacific Division title?

The Golden Knights won the Pacific Division title by defeating the Seattle Kraken 4-1, finishing two points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers.

Q: Who scored the key goals in the Golden Knights' victory over the Kraken?

Mitch Marner scored the pivotal third-period goal, while Reilly Smith contributed two late goals in the match.

Q: What are the next matchups for the Golden Knights and Kraken?

The Golden Knights will host Utah in the first round of the playoffs, while the Kraken will play against Colorado in their final game of the regular season.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mitch Marner broke a third-period tie and the Vegas Golden Knights won the Pacific Division for the fifth time in their nine-year history, beating the Seattle Kraken 4-1 on Wednesday night to close the regular season. Two points ahead of Edmonton entering the night, Vegas needed only a point to win the Pacific and set up a first-round series against Utah. Edmonton will finish play Thursday night at home against Vancouver. Reilly Smith had two late goals, Shea Theodore also scored and Carter Hart made 22 saves to help Vegas win its third straight. The Golden Knights finished 39-26-17, going 7-0-1 since John Tortorella took over as coach for the fired Bruce Cassidy. Shane Wright scored for Seattle, and Nikke Kokko stopped 22 shots. The Kraken have lost two straight to fall to 34-36-11 with a game left Thursday night at Colorado. Marner gave Vegas a 2-1 lead at 1:23 of the third. Off a faceoff, defenseman Brayden McNabb took a long, straightaway shot that Marner tipped in for his 24th goal of the season. Theodore tied it with 2:25 left in the second. The defenseman got the puck at the right point off a faceoff, moved to the top of the circle and fired a wrist shot past Kokko's glove. Wright opened the scoring at 2:24 of the second after missing the previous eight games because of an upper-body injury. Golden Knights captain Mark Stone played his 400th game for the franchise.