The Vegas Golden Knights wrapped up their first-round series against the Minnesota Wild with a 3-2 victory in Game 6 Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center.
Vegas got goals from Shea Theodore, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone, and Adin Hill delivered a clutch 29-save effort in the win.
After losing back-to-back games and falling behind 2-1, Vegas went on to win three straight games to take the series 4-2.
Pavel Dorofeyev (day-to-day) was unable to suit up for Game 5, which made room for Victor Olofsson to draw back into the lineup. Bruce Cassidy kept the stacked top line of William Karlsson, Eichel and Stone together, and the trio shut down Minnesota’s top line.
Notably, the end of the series marks the end of the illustrious career of Marc-Andre Fleury, who announced earlier this year that he would retire at the end of the season. Fleury made one last playoff appearance in Game 5, turning aside six of seven shots before Brett Howden bested him in overtime.
The Golden Knights scored the all-important first goal of the game, which ended up determining the winner of all six games in the series.
Vegas struck early after getting a four-minute power play less than three minutes into the contest. Theodore scored his second power-play goal of the series, taking advantage of the double screen by Stone and Tomas Hertl and beating Filip Gustavsson cleanly from the top of the umbrella.
The Golden Knights were unable to capitalize on the second minor, but unlike in Game 5, Vegas did not surrender the lead immediately. That was true even when Minnesota got its first chance on the man-advantage after Noah Hanifin cross-checked Ryan Hartman at 6:22.
Hill was excellent in the first period and came through with several massive stops, including a toe save on Marcus Foligno.
The Wild had another two promising scoring chances when Matt Boldy got a step on a Vegas defender, but he was unable to burn Theodore the way he burned Alex Pietrangelo in Game 5. Hill then turned aside Boldy’s bid as well as Jake Middleton’s follow-up to keep Minnesota off the board.
Hill continued to make saves as the Wild picked up the pace in the second half of the frame. Gustavsson came up with a huge save of his own when Brandon Saad got an inside step and had a great chance in front.
But the Golden Knights were unable to escape the period with the lead, as Hartman scored a backbreaker with just four seconds left. It was Foligno who did the gruntwork, and Hartman’s screened shot from the slot deflected off Olofsson on its way into the net to make it a 1-1 game after one.
Hill had been excellent, but he was the only reason the Golden Knights — who were handily outplayed at 5-on-5 — hadn’t relinquished that lead sooner.
The Wild led 12-8 in overall shots, but the numbers were much more one-sided at 5-on-5, where Minnesota had an 11-4 advantage in shots, an 8-4 edge in scoring chances and a 73.25 percent expected goal share.
The Wild got their second power play of the game just 1:03 into the middle frame, and they generated six shot attempts and four shots on goal, forcing Hill to stand tall to keep it a 1-1 game.
Less than two minutes after the kill, Vegas had two glorious opportunities after two Wild players collided deep in Vegas’ end. Foligno was driving to the net and didn’t see the cutting Middleton, and the chaos gave Vegas numbers the other way. However, Jared Spurgeon made two spectacular defensive plays to thwart Vegas’ best efforts. It looked as though Hertl missed a wide-open net, but it was an excellent stick play by Spurgeon that nullified the chance.
Slowly but surely, the Golden Knights began to find their game, and with 3:48 remaining in the period, Eichel’s first of the series gave Vegas its second lead of the night.
Eichel scored on a breakaway after collecting a perfect stretch pass from Stone. The Vegas captain placed the area feed just beyond the reach of the diving Kirill Kaprizov and directly onto the stick of the streaking Eichel, who beat Gustavsson on the forehand to give Vegas a 2-1 lead after two.
The Wild had two grade-A scoring chances early in the third period but were unable to convert on either. Boldy went to his backhand in front of an open net, giving Hanifin enough time to make a crucial stick play to prevent a sure goal. Then, Hill stoned Hartman, who got behind the Vegas defense.
The Wild continued to push and came up with another stellar penalty kill after Kaprizov tripped up Nicolas Roy.
The Golden Knights didn’t go into the shell, though, and it eventually paid off. Eichel had a fantastic chance in front of a wide-open net but fanned on the shot and couldn’t corral the puck on the follow-up. But the Golden Knights kept moving the puck around the zone until Stone tipped Brayden McNabb’s saucer feed out of mid-air and past Gustavsson to give Vegas a two-goal lead at 16:02.
But as they have done throughout the series, the Wild came right back to pull within one. Hartman scored his second of the game to make it 3-2 just 31 seconds later. The Golden Knights elected not to challenge despite some contact with Hill in the crease.
Hartman came within inches of what would have been a game-tying, hat-trick goal, but Hill managed to get enough of it.
Minnesota pulled Gustavsson with just over two minutes left in regulation. Two Vegas players were stuck on the ice with broken sticks, but the Golden Knights were able to ice the puck and get the whistle. Vegas proceeded to come up with multiple key blocks on the following shift before icing the puck with 19.8 seconds remaining. Vegas ultimately blocked eight shots with the goalie pulled to close out the 3-2 win and clinch the series in six games.
The Golden Knights needed their best players to step up and prevent the Wild from forcing a Game 7. Eichel, Stone and Hill did just that. Eichel and Stone scored their first goals of the series, and Vegas’ top line held Minnesota’s best line off the scoresheet. In fact, Kaprizov, Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek combined for zero points on home ice with the WIld’s season on the line.
Not only that, but the line of Eichel, Stone and Karlsson scored both of Vegas’ 5-on-5 tallies.
Cassidy played a key role in that outcome, especially considering the game was on the road. Not only did he decide to keep that line together, but he was able to get his best players on the ice against the Wild’s top scorers despite not having control over the matchups. He definitively won the coaching duel against John Hynes in an elimination game.
Hill had his best game of the series in the most important game of the year. He was the reason Vegas wasn’t trailing after one, and he repeatedly made big saves at key moments to keep Vegas tied or ahead. His confident play during the third-period penalty kill was critical, and he was a key reason Minnesota’s man-advantage went 0-for-2 on the night.
But it wasn’t just Vegas’ top players who came through. Howden had another outstanding two-way effort, including coming up with several blocks in the waning seconds of regulation. His remarkable campaign has extended into the postseason, and he finished the first round tied with Hertl for the team lead in goals.
Theodore also had an impressive night. He put Vegas up early and moved the puck well all night. He still has his moments, but he recovered nicely from a disastrous performance in Game 2. He also used his speed against Minnesota’s top players to negate several chances. He led the Golden Knights in ice time in Game 6 with 25:22, getting almost three minutes more than everyone else on the team, including McNabb (22:41) and Eichel (22:39).
Even without Vegas’ leading goal-scorer from the regular season, the Vegas power play was an asset once again. Despite cashing in on just one of four opportunities, Vegas’ man-advantage featured consistent puck movement and generated 14 shot attempts and eight scoring chances in addition to giving Vegas the early lead in a road elimination game.
Minnesota deserves credit for fighting until the end and for making this a close series. But with everything on the line, the Golden Knights got the job done. They scored in overtime in Games 4 and 5 and then completely shut things down when Minnesota pulled Gustavsson late in Game 6. The building was buzzing after Hartman’s response, so the fact that Vegas recorded eight shot blocks in the final 1:19 of action is remarkable.
Though Vegas wins and loses as a team, Pietrangelo had another rough outing. He was a bystander on Hartman’s third-period strike, and he is not the reliable player he once was. It’s clear he is battling an injury, which isn’t news — especially after his decision to skip the 4 Nations Face-Off — but he has become a liability on the ice. How Vegas will manage that in a more difficult second-round matchup remains to be seen.
That’s especially true since Zach Whitecloud and Nic Hague played just over 12 minutes. That’s not a sustainable strategy if Vegas hopes to go on an extended run.
The Golden Knights will play the winner of the Los Angeles-Edmonton series in round two. Edmonton currently leads the series 3-2.
