Vegas 7, Minnesota 2
When: 10:00 PM ET, Friday, April 12, 2024
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Referees:
Trevor Hanson, Kendrick Nicholson
Linesmen:
Ryan Gibbons, Bryan Pancich
Attendance:
18415
By Field Level Media
The defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights built an early lead and went on to a 7-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild in Las Vegas on Friday night, clinching the final Western Conference playoff berth in the process.
Jack Eichel, Nicolas Roy and Pavel Dorofeyev each had a goal and an assist and Chandler Stephenson tied his career-high with four assists for Vegas (43-28-8, 94 points), which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Jonathan Marchessault, Tomas Hertl, William Karlsson and Keegan Kolesar also scored goals and Noah Hanifin added two assists for the Golden Knights.
The win, combined with Carolina's 5-2 victory at St. Louis earlier Friday, eliminated the Blues from playoff consideration and put Vegas into the playoffs for the sixth time in its seven-year history.
Logan Thompson finished with 25 saves for the Golden Knights, who also moved within one point of the third-place Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division. Both teams have three home games remaining.
Marat Khusnutdinov scored his first NHL goal and Ryan Hartman also scored for Minnesota (37-33-9, 83 points.) Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 23 saves for the Wild, who lost for the fourth time in their last five games.
Vegas need just 8:35 to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Roy started the scoring with his first career short-handed goal at the end of a 3-on-1 break, tapping in a pass from Eichel inside the right post.
Dorofeyev followed with his 13th goal with a wrist shot from near the left faceoff dot that bounced in off Fleury's blocker.
Eichel made it 3-0 with a power-play goal, roofing a one-timer from the top of the left circle for his 30th goal.
Minnesota cut the lead to 3-1 midway through the second period when Khusnutdinov, stationed in front of the net, redirected Brock Faber's point shot under Thompson's left arm.
Marchessault made it 4-1 with another power-play goal, one-timing a Stephenson pass between the hashes in the slot for his team-leading 42nd goal.
Hertl scored his 16th goal and first with the Golden Knights early in the third period to extend the lead to 5-1. Hartman then cut the deficit to three goals on a delayed penalty with his 20th goal, which deflected in off the stick of Hanifin.
Karlsson, left alone in front of the crease, answered with his 28th goal, one-timing a shot five-hole. Kolesar ended the scoring with his eighth goal.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Minnesota |
|
Vegas |
|
Ryan Hartman 1 |
Points |
Chandler Stephenson 4 |
|
Ryan Hartman 1 |
Goals |
Pavel Dorofeyev 1 |
|
Matt Boldy 1 |
Assists |
Chandler Stephenson 4 |
|
Marat Khusnutdinov 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Jack Eichel 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
Nicolas Roy 1 |
|
Marc-Andre Fleury .767 |
Save Percentage |
Logan Thompson .926 |
|
Marc-Andre Fleury 23 |
Saves |
Logan Thompson 25 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Minnesota
|
27 |
2 |
1-3 |
2-4 |
8 |
21 |
| Vegas
|
30 |
7 |
2-4 |
2-3 |
6 |
23 |
Upcoming Games
-
Vegas will play their next game at home against Colorado. The Golden Knights have a W/L % of .535 after a win and .556 after a loss.
-
Minnesota will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Wild have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .439 after a loss.
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