Golden Knights down Avalanche to clinch playoff berth in inaugural season

Vegas is playoff bound.

With a 4-1 win on home ice over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night, the Golden Knights punched their ticket to the postseason in their record-setting inaugural season.

The Golden Knights are the third team since 1968-69 to qualify for the playoffs in their debut campaign, joining the 1979-80 Hartford Whalers and Edmonton Oilers, per NHL Public Relations.

However, the Whalers and Oilers did so after joining from the World Hockey Association, making Vegas' accomplishments the first of its kind in the NHL.

Before the season begun, oddsmakers projected the Golden Knights to finish with a league-worst 69.5 points, but Monday's win pushed them to 103 on the season - ranking fourth in the league - with six games remaining.

Now six points clear of the San Jose Sharks, Vegas is closing in on clinching top spot in the Pacific Division to cap off a success story nobody could have predicted.

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