Golden Knights beat Wild in tight-checking Game 1 by taking control in third period: Takeaways

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LAS VEGAS – The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Minnesota Wild 4-2 in Game 1 of their first-round series on Sunday night, in a tight-checking battle that could be emblematic of this series between the Pacific Division champs and the top wild-card team.

Vegas took control of the game early in the third period with a 3-1 lead, but the Wild made a late push, fueled by a wraparound goal by Matt Boldy. The Golden Knights defended well in the final minutes to hold on, and Brett Howden sealed the game with an empty-net goal in the final seconds.

Howden scored twice for the Golden Knights, while Tomas Hertl and Pavel Dorofevev added the other two goals. Boldy scored twice for the Wild. Vegas goalie Adin Hill stopped 19 of the 21 shots he faced, improving his career playoff record to 13-6.

Shea Theodore assisted on a second-period goal to tie Reilly Smith for the most playoff assists in Golden Knights history (48). This was the Golden Knights’ fifth-straight victory in Game 1 of a playoff series, dating to their run to the Stanley Cup in 2023.

The Wild and Golden Knights meet again Tuesday night for Game 2. Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven series own an all-time series record of 525-247 (.680). Here are our takeaways from Game 1:

Hill wins goalie duel

Filip Gustavsson has been the Wild’s MVP this season, and their best player down the stretch. But the Swede was going to get counted on big-time in this series against Vegas and Stanley Cup champion goalie Adin Hill. Gustavsson gave Minnesota a chance in this one, making several key stops, including on a breakaway by Jack Eichel in the second period to keep it a 2-1 game. But Hill was also very good, holding his ground on a number of great looks by the Wild late in the second period.

Massive save by Gustavsson on Eichel pic.twitter.com/QrukPSoojB

— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) April 21, 2025

Gustavsson was beaten three minutes into the third period on a Howden wrist shot off the rush; the puck bounced in off Wild goaltender’s right shoulder.

Boldy steps up

Boldy came through down the stretch for the Wild, including scoring the OT winner in Tuesday’s playoff-clinching win over the Ducks. But there was still lots of pressure on the 24-year-old to deliver in the playoffs.

Boldy entered Sunday with just two goals in 12 playoff games. He doubled that Sunday.

Boldy tied the game at 1-1 with 2:18 left in the first period after Hertl gave the Golden Knights the lead, then cut a 3-1 deficit to one goal with 8:14 left in the third when he scored on a backhand wraparound.

Matt Boldy buries another one, and the @mnwild are within one! 👀 pic.twitter.com/oODPd14C9x

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 21, 2025

On his first goal, Boldy entered the Vegas zone on the left side and received a spectacular pass from Kirill Kaprizov before beating Hill. Kaprizov and Boldy are the Wild’s two best game-breakers offensively, and how they do will play a pivotal role if they have a chance to win this series. This was definitely a good start.

Kirill Kaprizov finds Matt Boldy with a perfect pass and Boldy does the rest, tying it up at 1 for the Wild!#mnwild | #StanleyCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/mtyLLhSHs4

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) April 21, 2025

Overall, Vegas did a good job stifling Boldy and Kaprizov. The two combined for three shots on goal.

Buium’s debut

After a helmet-less solo lap to become the first rookie in Wild history to make his NHL debut in the playoffs, Zeev Buium, drafted No. 12 overall in Las Vegas last June, showed zero signs of nerves despite such a high-pressure atmosphere.

Bucketless Zeev Buium’s rookie solo lap in advance of his NHL debut pic.twitter.com/wsMEQUMwHZ

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) April 21, 2025

Buium logged 13 minutes, 27 seconds. He was on the ice for Boldy’s first-period tying goal because veteran Jonas Brodin went to the bench for a line change after headmanning the puck ahead for Boldy. Buium was also on the ice for Howden’s first goal in the third period, but he was hardly to blame.

Buium showed flashes of his puck-moving and playmaking ability, darting up the ice with ease. There were also some tense moments, such as when Buium had to try to chase down Brandon Saad on a second-period breakaway (Saad hit the post), and Howden’s third-period goal. Buium ran the point on the Wild’s only power play, though the unit didn’t muster a shot on goal. The rookie seemed to handle the ups and downs well, even when Zach Whitecloud nearly knocked him into the Vegas bench in the first. There will be some unforgettable memories, no doubt, like flipping a puck to his mother, Miriam, during his solo lap. But there was also plenty to learn from.

Since 1927, 151 players had played their first-ever NHL game in the playoffs before Buium did the deed for the Wild. At 19 years, 134 days, Buium became the 12th-youngest player in NHL history to make his debut during the playoffs.

Showing his confidence in Buium offensively, coach John Hynes put him on the ice with the extra attacker as the Wild tried to rally late. But after Joel Eriksson Ek won the draw, Buium decided to pass rather than shoot and turned the puck over, leading to a Boldy penalty that sealed the game.

Lost draws cost Wild

The Wild are perennially one of the worst faceoff teams in the NHL and were again this season, finishing 29th at 46.7 percent. As Hynes said Friday, faceoffs were going to be critical in this series.

Joel Eriksson Ek had a monster game in the circle, winning 20 of 30. Unfortunately for him and the Wild, it was Eriksson Ek’s high-sticking minor at 13:27 of the second period — the first penalty of the game — that landed him in the box and kept him from taking the draw on the penalty kill.

For the second time in the game, Freddy Gaudreau was smoked in the circle, leading to a goal against. The first was from Hertl, the second from Dorofeyev five seconds into the power play when he one-timed Shea Theodore’s pass into a wide-open cage because Gustavsson didn’t move a muscle. It looked like Gustavsson was frozen by Theodore’s fake shot, or a screen in front, because he wasn’t able to adjust and get over for the one-timer.

Dorofeyev is exactly what the Golden Knights needed this season on the wing pic.twitter.com/ItNLx5zOWl

— Shayna (@shaynagoldman_) April 21, 2025

Hertl delivers in Hertl-style

It took both sides a while to break through on the scoreboard, before Hertl scored in the most Hertl-way possible, 15 minutes into the game. Hertl started the play by winning an offensive-zone faceoff. After Wild defenseman Brock Faber got to a loose puck, Hertl stripped him of it, turned and fired a perfectly-placed shot over Gustavsson’s shoulder to open the scoring.

Tomas Hertl opens up the scoring in the Wild-Golden Knights series 🚨 pic.twitter.com/H7ovgBKClk

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 21, 2025

When Vegas acquired the former San Jose Shark at last year’s trade deadline, it was with this exact type of play — at this exact time of year — in mind. It took Hertl some time to adjust to the Vegas system and recover from knee surgery, but midway through this season, he found his groove and has been one of the Golden Knights’ best players ever since.

He led all Vegas players with 22 goals after Jan. 7, and was eighth in the NHL during that span. Now he’s delivering when Vegas needs it most, with the type of power-forward play that has made him successful his entire career.

Vegas’ power play proves a major advantage

In a game with only three total penalties called, the Golden Knights’ second-ranked power play still found a way to be the difference.

Eriksson Ek was called for a high stick against Alex Pietrangelo midway through the second period, and it took Vegas only five seconds to cash in with a power-play goal by Dorofeyev. It was the first career power-play goal for Dorofeyev, who led the Golden Knights with 35 goals this season (13 on the power play).

The goal was the result of a sensational play by Theodore, who collected a puck at the blue line, danced into open ice, froze Gustavsson with a slap shot fake, and fed Dorofeyev for a one-timer into a wide-open net.

The Golden Knights drew the fewest penalties in the NHL this season, so they will need to be hyper-efficient on the power play against Minnesota’s 30th-ranked penalty kill. Sunday night, they were exactly that.

Buium, bumps Merrill, Chisholm from Wild lineup

A few weeks ago, Faber talked to The Athletic about what Buium could expect when he arrived, and one of the things Faber said was awkward when he came from the Frozen Four two years ago was knocking players like Jon Merrill and Alex Goligoski from the lineup, who had been there all year going through the grind.

With Buium’s arrival, that has happened again to the former Golden Knight, Merrill, who played 70 games this season, and Declan Chisholm, who played 66.

Hynes was asked how Merrill and Chisholm took the news.

“Those guys have battled for you all year long, and obviously they’re not happy about it, but they’re good team guys,” Hynes said. “They’ll do what’s right for the team. And I think they all know that you (can) get in the series. Most playoff series or playoff runs, you need eight to nine defensemen usually to be able to impact your team. So obviously disappointment and not happy about it, which I get, and I’m good with. We had a good conversation, and I told them where I was coming from, and they told me where they were coming from. And now you walk out of that room and you’re all in it together and all what’s best for the team.”

(Photo of Tomas Hertl: Candice Ward / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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