FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Wild- 1st Round - NHL Playoffs

FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs. Wild- 1st Round – NHL Playoffs

Franchise Sports Media

Golden Knights (4-3) | Minnesota Wild (3-4)

 

Game 7:

 

The Vegas Golden Knights took on the Minnesota Wild for the first-ever game 7 at T-Mobile Arena on Friday night in front of 12,156 fans in a truly electric environment.

 

As a few of my best friends and I were hanging out on the strip Friday afternoon, we decided we wanted to be a part of that environment instead of just watching it on a screen. While hanging out at the pool at the newly renovated Virgin Hotel, we decided to look up tickets and were surprised to find some for sale that would not require any of us to sell a kidney. And just like that, we took a cab to go and witness history in person. You got to love Vegas, where you can be hanging out at a resort enjoying some adult beverages one minute, and in T-Mobile Arena screaming at the top of your lungs the next.

As the game was about to start, you could feel the nervous energy that every game 7 brings with it. Once the puck was dropped all of that energy was focused on the play on the ice as fans reacted to every hit, every clear of the puck, and the collective “Oooohhh” of every scoring chance for VGK. Just 5:09 into the first period Mattias Janmark skated in and deked to his forehand to beat Cam Talbot in an impressive show of skill to give the Golden Knights their first lead of the game, and the arena erupted as all of that nervous energy turned into a frenzy of celebration. Vegas held the lead for most of the period but Zach Parise was able to tie the game up with 3:11 left as he tapped the puck in between his legs while set up in front of Fleury and both teams went into the first intermission tied 1-1.

 

As the second period started I turned to both of my friends and said we need to see at least three goals this period as we were seated in section 19 and it would be our only opportunity to see the VGK score in front of us, and that is exactly what they did.

 

The first of those three goals came 2:05 into the period as Nicolas Hague received the puck off the faceoff and fired a wrister past Talbot to give his team the lead for the second time. Minnesota was given a powerplay after Ryan Reeves was called for interference against Ryan Suter a couple of minutes later and was able to tie the game up again. Mats Zuccarello possessed the puck behind the goal and was able to find Kirill Kaprisov driving the net where he was able to beat Fleury and score his second goal of the series. From that point on it was all VGK.

Max Pacioretty’s absence had been felt throughout the series, but his presence was what was felt Friday night as he drew back into the lineup and scored the eventual game-winning goal 7:44 into the middle frame. Chandler Stephenson received the puck from Shea Theodore as he drove into the zone and found Pacioretty all by himself in the slot where he one-timed the puck from in close to beat Talbot. The crowd had been cheering every time he touched the puck throughout the night and the roof damn near came off when he scored that goal.

I got to say VGK looked like a different team with him back on the ice. Zach Whitecloud scored the final goal of the period with 6:22 remaining as he received the puck in the right circle and picked the corner against Talbot to score his first goal in 48 games.

 

The third period saw Vegas not only hold on to their lead but build upon it as well as Mattias Janmark scored his first-ever career hat trick. It was a pretty cool story for Janmark as the last three players to score a hat trick in a game 7 are him, Joel Kiviranta, and Wayne Gretzky.

 

Janmark’s second goal of the game came with 7:24 remaining as Nicolas Roy battled for the puck down low and found Mattias by the right circle where he wasted no time snapping a wrist shot past Talbot to put Vegas up 5-2. He scored his third goal with 3:07 remaining after the Wild had pulled their goalie with a tremendous effort to beat Calen Addison and swipe the puck in while falling forward onto the ice. It was an awesome spectacle as the ice was littered with hats and the feeling set in that VGK was going to advance to the second round to take on the Colorado Avalanche.

 

Looking Forward:

 

After a hard-fought series against a very good Minnesota Wild team, the Vegas Golden Knights will have little time to relish their victory as they play the Avalanche this Sunday, less than 48 hours after winning round 1. The addition of Max Pacioretty back into the lineup could not have come sooner as his help will be needed to beat a Colorado team that finished with the best record in the NHL regular season. In what is one of the most anticipated matchups of the playoffs, this series seems bound to go seven games as well due to the talent of both teams and how evenly matched they are. I am very excited to see this series as whoever comes out on top will surely be deemed the Stanley Cup favorite going forward.

 

The Vegas Golden Knights will play game 1 of the second-round series against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday evening at Ball Arena. The puck drop is at 5 PM and will be on AT&T Sportsnet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.

 

 

Game 6:

 

Game six between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Minnesota Wild saw both teams play conservatively as the game did not open up early as shot totals were kept to a low and no powerplays were given in the first period.

 

VGK came into the game without Nosek, Reeves, Pacioretty, and lost Brayden McNabb to covid protocol. Without some of their big-name players, I am sure Pete DeBoer was fine with how the first period went since not many high danger chances against were given up either way. Due to the fact that Minnesota has performed well in the first period during this series and seems to taper off in the latter periods keeping the score tied at zero is not the worst thing in the world.

Marc Andre Fleury made sure it stayed that way as time wound down making back-to-back saves on both Victor Rask and Mats Zuccarello. Even though he was not tested much during the first, Fleury coming through with those save was huge when looking at the big picture. The Wild finished the period leading the shot total 9-6 but had nothing to show for it.

 

The second period was similar to the first in that shots were kept to a minimum but this time Vegas did a better job of getting too dangerous areas but had trouble getting their shots on net.

 

Perhaps one of the most rousing moments of the middle frame was when Matt Dumba laid a pretty big hit on Alex Tuch which Alec Martinez did not take lightly. While it was not a dirty hit, it was clear that Dumba made a point to take a shot at Tuch so Martinez dropped the gloves to send a message. The bout was more of a wrestling match than anything else though as both players went to the ice fairly quick and then off to the penalty box. Neither team was given a powerplay the rest of the way and the period ended with VGK leading in shots this time by a margin of 7-5.

 

The third period saw the Minnesota Wild breakthrough first on the scoresheet scoring a goal within the first five minutes, from there they continued to keep their foot on the gas pedal.

 

Ryan Hartman scored the first goal of the game just 4:21 into the third period after he and Kevin Fiala entered the zone on a 2 on 1 and Hartman was able to one time his shot top shelf on the far side of Fleury. Cody Glass nearly scored the tying goal two and a half minutes later on a great rebound chance but Talbot was able to extend his left leg and keep the puck out before smothering it. With 11:05 remaining it appeared that Chandler Stephenson had scored a goal but it was waved off due to a highly questionable goalie interference call on Alex Tuch. Pete DeBoer challenged the call but it was upheld and VGK was penalized for delay of game.

Minnesota added salt to the wound just forty seconds into the man advantage after Kevin Fiala scored from the top of the left circle. With 4:43 remaining Nick Bjugstad scored the dagger after Nico Sturm took the puck down the right sideboards and found Bjugstad driving down the center of the ice before backhanding a shot past Fleury to make it 3-0. Fifty seconds later Vegas was given one last chance with a powerplay after Matt Dumba was called for roughing but they could not convert and eventually lost 3-0. After being up 3-1, Vegas has allowed Minnesota to come back in the series and will now play a winner take all matchup back home on Friday.

 

Looking Forward:

 

The most glaring moment from this game to most people will obviously be the goalie interference call that negated Vegas’ tying goal, but there were other factors that resulted in VGK losing as well. With 3:33 remaining 13 of Vegas’ 22 shots had come from defenseman, I have stated for a while now that the Wild are really good at collapsing in front of their net and forcing their opponents to take more shots from the perimeter.

Talbot has proved that he is up to the task of being able to fight those chances off with his main weakness being handling shots from in close around the net. The Golden Knights need to get back to the game they were playing in game 4 and not just be satisfied with taking shots from the outside and perimeter areas. If they can do that they have a chance to make franchise history as they host their first-ever game 7 on home ice in the playoffs.

 

The Vegas Golden Knights will play game 7 of the series against the Minnesota Wild on Friday evening at T-Mobile Arena. The puck drop is at 6 PM and will be on AT&T Sportsnet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.

 

 

Game 5:

The Vegas Golden Knights had a strong start to game five but the momentum quickly swung back to a desperate Minnesota Wild team on the brink of elimination.

 

Eight minutes and fourteen seconds into the first period, Golden Knights captain Mark Stone opened up the scoring after Alex Tuch chipped the puck to him, where he drove up ice and shot the puck over Cam Talbot’s glove hand. The arena exploded, and it seemed like VGK was picking up right where they left off in game four.

Fifty-two seconds later, the momentum switched as Kirill Kaprisov scored a goal after Mats Zuccarello singlehandedly skated the puck into Vegas’ zone and found the young forward wide open for a one-timer to beat Marc Andre Fleury.

Minnesota did not stop there when four minutes later, Zach Parise gave his team their first lead of the night after he bounced the puck off the end boards and was able to bank the puck in off of Fleury. With 3:26 remaining Jordan Greenway scored the third goal for the Wild after he shot the puck on net, made a move around Alex Martinez, and then buried his own rebound. And just like that, VGK’s opening goal seemed like a distant memory; it was the first time Vegas has allowed three goals in a period in eleven playoff games.

 

Vegas responded exactly how you would want them to as they had a dominant second period and were able to cut the Wild’s lead to one.

 

After controlling play for the first eight minutes, Minnesota’s frustration showed up after Matt Dumba was called for delay of game by sending the puck over the boards. With 32 seconds remaining in the man advantage Chandler Stephenson nearly scored as he put a shot on net, and it squeezed through Talbot’s pads, but Marcus Foligno was able to help keep it out of the net. It did not matter, though as Alec Martinez scored 23 seconds later with a one-timer from the right circle after Alex Pietrangelo found him all alone.

VGK’s dominance continued as Minnesota did not register a shot on net until there was 7:14 left and did not get another shot on goal the rest of the period. With 3:27 left, Vegas was given another powerplay opportunity after Jonas Brodin was called for hooking against Reilly Smith but was unable to tie the game. The Golden Knights finished the middle frame outshooting their opponents 23-1 in the period and looked prime for one of their third-period comebacks.

 

The third period saw VGK outshoot their opponents 10-5 but they just could not get the tying goal on the board.

 

The Wild were able to hold on to their lead despite being outshot 39-14 in the game and were able to squeak out a win, thanks in large part to Cam Talbot. Vegas’ best chance came towards the end of the period by Reilly Smith as he registered two point-blank chances in a row but still could net beat Talbot. With 1:43 left, the Golden Knights pulled Fleury in an attempt to tie the game up but could not get the equalizer, and it was Nico Sturm who scored the lone goal of the period on an empty net. The Minnesota Wild have forced a game six where VGK will try to close it out in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Wednesday night.

 

Looking Forward:

 

Vegas threw everything they could at the Wild last night, but Cam Talbot was able to make a plethora of saves when it counted as he took the onslaught head-on. Games like this are a bit weird because, on paper, VGK did everything right. They outshot their opponent by a tremendous amount and dominated large swaths of the game, but the one thing I noticed was missing was the effectiveness on the rush that we saw in game 4. If they can get that part of their game back and not allow themselves to fall behind again, they still have a great chance of closing this series out in game 6.

 

The Vegas Golden Knights will play game 6 of the series against the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday evening. The puck drop is at 6:00 PM and will be on AT&T Sportsnet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.

 

 

Game 4:

 

The fourth game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Minnesota Wild had a much different looking first period than the previous three games as Vegas had a much better start to their game.

 

Vegas started out the game on a physical note as they were aggressive on the forecheck, and William Carrier was called for roughing just eleven seconds into the game against Matt Dumba. The VGK penalty kill looked as solid as they have all year, negating Minnesota’s first look with the man advantage. The Golden Knights were the first ones to break through on the scoresheet with 9:23 left in the opening frame.

Nic Roy made a fantastic play to keep the puck out of the net as Marc Andre Fleury was caught out of position and proceeded to take it all the way into the Minnesota end. After a quick give-and-go with Keegan Kolesar, while crossing the blueline, he was able to beat Cam Talbot, marking the first time Vegas has scored first in the series. Joel Eriksson Ek appeared to have scored just 19 seconds later, but the goal was waved off due to goalie interference, and VGK carried their lead into the first intermission.

 

The second period saw the Vegas Golden Knights successfully build off the momentum they created in the first period as they were able to cash in on a few more chances and negate the Minnesota Wild’s offensive chances.

 

Just over nine minutes into the period, Alex Tuch increased his team’s lead to two as he was sprung on a breakaway after Chandler Stephenson breaking down the ice. Tuch made a great move through two of Minnesota’s defenders and went backhand-forehand to beat Cam Talbot. with 8:28 remaining, Chandler Stephenson was called for high sticking against Zach Parise that ended up being a double minor since he drew blood.

The Wild generated some good chances in the first two minutes, but Fleury was able to fend them off, and it ended up being the Golden Knights who capitalized on the penalty. With 6:19 left in the period, Mark Stone took advantage of a Matt Dumba turnover and flew down the ice on a shorthanded breakaway chance where he pulled off a great deke and scored to increase VGK’s lead to three goals. Joel Eriksson Ek registered one great chance at the end of the powerplay, but Fleury stopped him, preserving the 3-0 lead his team had built. Vegas stifled Minnesota the rest of the way and went into the second intermission with a solid lead.

 

The third period saw the Vegas Golden Knights do what they have done all year, lock it down when leading after two periods.

 

While the Wild were able to register thirteen shots on net in the final frame, they were unable to solve Marc Andre Fleury, who recorded a shutout. The shutout put Fleury in a tie for third all-time in playoff history for career shutouts. Minnesota pulled their goalie with about five minutes left, but the only goal scored was an empty netter from Nicolas Roy to ice the game.

 

Looking Forward:

 

The Vegas Golden Knights took a commanding 3-1 series lead after beating Minnesota twice in a row in regulation at St. Paul Arena. After failing to score in game one, VGK has scored three or more goals in each of their games since and has a chance to finish off the series. With Fleury in top form and the offense coming back to life, Vegas has a real chance at doing just that in front of a nearly packed arena back home.

 

The Vegas Golden Knights will play game 5 of the series against the Minnesota Wild on Monday evening. The puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be on AT&T Sportsnet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.

 

 

Game 3:

Game three of the first round matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and the  Minnesota Wild on Thursday night did not disappoint as Vegas figure out their opponent on their home ice.

 

Everything was looking to go Minnesota’s way in the first period as they opened up the scoring just 2:15 after the initial puck drop. Ryan Hartman found himself wide open on the right side of the net before Kirill Kaprisov was able to pass it to him from the top of the left circle, and he was able to immediately tap the puck in to give the Wild the lead. Roughly six minutes later, Joel Eriksson Ek scored the second Wild goal after he picked up a loose puck and beat Fleury over his right leg pad.

With just under seven minutes left, Joel Eriksson Ek appeared to score the third goal for his team and his second of the game, but DeBoer challenged the goal due to a missed offsides from the linesman. The challenge proved to be fruitful as the goal was reversed almost immediately, and Minnesota’s lead remained at two. It truly was a game-changing moment as Vegas looked like a different team from that point on as they had been thoroughly outplayed up until that point.

 

The second period was a polar opposite of the first as VGK began winning the majority of the puck battles and outshot the Wild by a margin of 22-5 and scored three unanswered goals in the middle frame.

 

After regaining control of the game, Golden Knight’s captain Mark Stone began the comeback with 11:21 on the clock after he received a pass in the slot from Chandler Stephenson and put it past Cam Talbot. from that point on, there was no looking back for Vegas as they continued to dominate play and won much more puck battles than they did in the first period.

With 4:41 on the clock forward, Patrick Brown tied the game with his first goal as a Vegas Golden Knight after the puck had a fortuitous bounce off the end-boards and onto his stick where he was able to backhand it in to tie the game. Just over two minutes later, Reilly Smith was able to bury his own rebound after he attempted a backhand and recovered the puck before putting it on his forehand and shooting it in to give his team the lead. The period ended with Kirill Kaprisov taking a tripping penalty against Alex Tuch giving VGK a significant amount of powerplay time to start the third period.

 

The third period showed why Vegas was the best defensive team in the NHL this year as they limited Minnesota to just four shots on goal and were able to add to their lead as well.

 

The Golden Knights were able to kill off an early penalty and added fourteen shots of their own in the final twenty minutes before finally scoring the dagger with just 2:24 remaining in-game time. William Karlsson ended any hope of Minnesota pulling their goalie for some late-game heroics as he put a beautiful shot past Talbot on his blocker side to make the game 4-2 with little time left. With fifty-nine seconds left, Mark Stone scored an empty-net goal for his second of the night and the Vegas Golden Knights took a 2-1 lead in the series.

 

Looking Forward:

 

VGK did a good job not letting the first period shake their confidence as they struggled to generate any real offense, and Minnesota seemed to be winning every puck battle. Joel Eriksson Ek’s second goal being waved off was a huge factor as well, as it kept the game from getting out of hand early. Vegas did a great job creating havoc in front of the net and burying shots from in close, and as I have said before, that will play a huge part in them finishing up this series on top. They need to come into the first period of game four the same way they finished the last two periods of tonight’s game, and they should be able to do just that.

 

 

The Vegas Golden Knights will play game 4 of the series against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday evening. The puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m. and will be on AT&T Sportsnet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.

 

 

Game 2:

The Vegas Golden Knights took on the Minnesota Wild in game 2 of their first-round matchup at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday night looking to tie the series at 1-1.

 

Marc Andre Fleury was forced to make multiple saves in the first period as he faced 17 shots against but was able to stand tall against every single one of them. One of the more notable saves came against a deflection from Nick Bonino when the Wild were on the powerplay less than five minutes into the game. Fleury then made two more huge saves in the ensuing minutes on a backhand shot by Kevin Fiala, immediately followed by another backhand opportunity by Victor Rask. While the Golden Knights were not able to score in the first period, they were able to weather the storm and head into the first intermission with a scoreless game.

 

The second period saw the VGK settle in and take back some control of the game but it was the Wild who scored the first regulation goal of the series.

 

After a fierce scrum along the boards just over twelve minutes into the period, Matt Dumba received the puck along the blue line and sent a wrist shot past a screened Fleury to open the scoring. At that time, you could tell the crowd felt deflated as the energy was sucked out of the building for about eighteen seconds. With 7:35 remaining, Jonathan Marchessault answered right back, scoring Vegas’s first goal to tie the game. Reilly Smith was along the right sideboards and found Marchessault streaking down the ice where he received the puck and sent a perfect shot past Cam Talbot from the right circle.

It may sound dramatic, but I believe that goal may have saved the season for Vegas as they looked like a different team from that point on. With 4:56 remaining William Carrier drew a roughing penalty from Ian Cole, giving Vegas their first powerplay of the night. While they did not score on the man advantage Alex Tuch scored the go-ahead goal fifteen seconds after it expired. Mattias Janmark possessed the puck behind the net and found Tuch driving to the goal crease, where he was able to land a snapshot past Talbot. Plays like that are what is going to win this series for Vegas, so let’s hope that trend continues.

 

The final frame had the tension that a one-goal game leads to in the playoffs but the Golden Knights were able to secure their lead and finish off the game on a high note.

 

Play on both sides tightened up as the period went on and shot totals were at a minimum as VGK shifted their focus to defending instead of desperately trying to score. With 12:10 remaining, both Matt Dumba and Alex Pietrangelo took offsetting penalties leading to 4 on 4 play for two minutes, but the score remained the same. As time was expiring, Kirill Kaprisov took a tripping penalty to put Vegas on the powerplay one last time, and it paid off. With 53 seconds left, Alex Tuch scored his second goal of the game in a similar fashion to his first one after Chandler Stephenson found him in front of the net, and he was able to snap the puck past Talbot. Vegas was able to tie the series 1-1 before going on the road to St. Paul, Minnesota, for game 3.

 

Looking Forward:

 

My outlook for the Vegas Golden Knights‘ success going forward is to keep crashing the net, keep getting traffic in front of the goal crease, and continue to make use of plays from behind the net. Since the absence of Pacioretty is still a factor, Vegas would do well to continue to find ways to score greasy goals that are not always pretty. Continue to find ways inside of the Wilds defensive setup by going to the hard areas and battling physically. With Marc Andre Fleury in great form right now, just a few goals per game should be able to get the job done as long as his play does not drop off.

 

The Vegas Golden Knights will play game 3 of the series against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday evening. The puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. and will be on AT&T Sportsnet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.

 

 

Game 1: 

 

The Vegas Golden Knights opened up the first game of their playoff series vs the Minnesota Wild with 8,683 fans in attendance, the highest recorded attendance in any NHL game so far this season.

 

 

 

Vegas will have a chance to even up the series on Tuesday before heading to St. Paul, Minnesota, for games three and four. Their focus for game 2 should be generating more high-quality chances by getting more traffic in front of the net and making Cam Talbot’s job harder. One thing I noticed was lacking in Vegas’ game was the ability to get forwards crashing the net while on the rush. Getting some greasy goals down low may be the key to beating the Wild in this series, as Cam Talbot showed he is more than capable of turning away the low danger chances. With Pacioretty out of the lineup and his return being uncertain at this time, it will be difficult for VGK to rely on sniping the puck into the net.

Additionally, Marc Andre Fleury made an obvious case that he is the man to mind the net during the playoffs. The beloved goalie did everything he could to win this game, and it took a bad turnover and a puck off the skate of his own defenseman to beat him for the game’s only goal. This is not to disparage Robin Lehner at all, as he played great during the regular season, but when you are trying to win the cup, you have to go with a guy like Fleury, in my opinion. I know the goalie rotation worked great during the regular season, but rotating in the playoffs can lead to uncertainty when solidarity is needed.

 

The Vegas Golden Knights will play game 2 of the series against the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday evening. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be on AT&T Sportsnet and FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340.