CALGARY, Alberta — This was not the kind of meaningless game Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant was looking for.
The Knights didn’t just end their season with a loss Saturday night. They didn’t compete, they left their starting goaltender hung out to dry and played as poor and sloppy a hockey game as they have all season in getting routed by the Calgary Flames 7-1 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
But they do know their opponent in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Knights, who won the Pacific Division in their inaugural NHL season with 51 wins and 109 points, will face the Los Angeles Kings, with Game 1 of the best-of-7 series expected to begin Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena.