Brett Howden scored two goals, including the game-winner early in the third period, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-2 in Game 1 of the Western Conference first-round series on Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist, Adin Hill made 18 saves and Pavel Dorofeyev also scored for Vegas, which improved to 9-2 in playoff openers at T-Mobile Arena.
“I thought the game was kind of as advertised,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We made more plays than them at the end and in the offensive zone to secure the win. I think you’ll see a similar game on Tuesday (in Game 2). I don’t think either team is going to try and get away from what they do well.”
The best-of-seven matchup continues Tuesday with Game 2 in Las Vegas, before moving to Saint Paul, Minn., for two games.
Matt Boldy scored both of the Wild’s goals and Kirill Kaprizov assisted on both. Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 of 26 shots.
“I thought we played a good game and had our chances and that’s the way it goes,” Boldy said. “You’ve got to win four games. It doesn’t matter when or how. Stay positive and keep going, take the good and work on the bad I guess, and go from there.”
Vegas, the second seed in the West after winning the Pacific Division with 110 points, took a 1-0 lead at the 15:22 mark of the first period when Hertl stole the puck from defenseman Brock Faber at the bottom of the left circle and then spun around and fired a wrist shot over Gustavsson’s right shoulder. It was Hertl’s 26th career playoff goal.
Minnesota, the seventh seed after earning the top Western Conference wild-card spot, tied it a little over two minutes later when Kaprizov hit Boldy coming down the left wing with a cross-ice pass. Boldy then fired a wrist shot inside the far post to make it 1-1.
Vegas took a 2-1 lead midway through the second period on a power-play goal by Dorofeyev, who one-timed a Shea Theodore pass from the middle of the right circle past Gustavsson’s glove side. It was the first career playoff goal for Dorofeyev, who led the Golden Knights with 35 goals in the regular season.
The Wild were fortunate to be down by just one goal at the end of two periods as Gustavsson stopped breakaways by both Brandon Saad and Jack Eichel in the period.
Howden increased the lead to 3-1 at the 2:28 mark of the third period when he finished an odd-man rush with a wrist shot from the left circle that caromed in off the top of Gustavsson’s right shoulder.
“Good for Howie,” Cassidy said. “He had a good year. He’s been good for us all year and was good again tonight.”
Boldy cut it to 3-2 midway through the period when he scooped up a rebound of a shot by Kaprizov and backhanded in a wraparound shot inside the left post.
Minnesota pulled Gustavsson for an extra attacker with 1:30 remaining, but Boldy picked up a tripping penalty on William Karlsson just 29 seconds later. Howden just beat the clock with an empty-net score on the power play with 0.1 seconds left.
–Field Level Media
