NHL playoffs 2018: Updated bracket after Golden Knights beat Kings

On Tuesday night, the Vegas Golden Knights completed their improbable sweep of the Los Angeles Kings. Here’s what the Stanley Cup playoffs bracket looks like with one series down.

So much for that dynasty.

The Los Angeles Kings were hoping to make a deep run in these Stanley Cup playoffs, but the expansion Vegas Golden Knights are simply having too much fun to stop now.

Vegas completed its four-game sweep over Los Angeles on Tuesday night with a hard-fought 1-0 victory. Here’s what the Stanley Cup bracket looks like now:

In a way, it’s fitting that the Golden Knights are the first team to advance to the semifinals of this year’s NHL postseason. They’ve blown past every expectation people had for them and shattered records in the process, so why not this?

Vegas is now the first team in NHL history to get a sweep in the playoffs in its inaugural season.

However, very few would have predicted that the Kings wouldn’t win a single game in the postseason. The Kings finished the regular season 45-29-8 (98 points), including going 6-2-2 in their final 10 to come into the postseason hot.

Los Angeles also boasted one of the league’s toughest defenses. But then Drew Doughty went and got himself suspended for Game 2, which allowed the Golden Knights to pile up a 2-0 advantage before the series went back to L.A.

But there was one Kings stat that perhaps should have clued us in that this outcome was possible. The Kings simply struggled to put points on the board, both in the regular season and, obviously, against the Golden Knights. They finished their year middle of the pack, with 2.89 goals for per game.

In the playoffs, however, the Golden Knights’ Marc-Andre Fleury banished the Kings from the net. He only gave up three goals through the entire four games for a superhuman save percentage of .977.

Congratulations, Vegas. Now the Golden Knights can relax and wait to see if they’re going to draw the San Jose Sharks or Anaheim Ducks in the second round.

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