The Golden Knights lead the best-of-seven series with the Wild, 1-0
The Vegas Golden Knights skated to a 4-2 win in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena. Here’s what select Golden Knights players and head coach Bruce Cassidy had to say following the victory.
Tomas Hertl on playoff hockey…
“I always enjoy the playoffs. Last year was kind of different for me coming to the new team and not being fully healthy. I’m long-time excited for this moment. I always try to play my game, and I think it’s kind of a playoff style. I’m happy I could help with this team today with that. It is always an all-team effort.”
Hertl on Pavel Dorofeyev scoring his first playoff goal…
“I know playoffs] are a different style of hockey, but I think Pavel is such a smart player, and I think he has a really good game. The power play has been working all season for us, and it was a big goal. Theo [[Shea Theodore] made a great play; it’s not easy to finish, and he’s just been doing that all season long. He had a couple of other great looks, and he has to just play his game and not think about it much because when you’re overthinking, you try to change your game or something, it never works.”
Noah Hanifin on the playoff atmosphere at T-Mobile Arena…
“It’s so exciting. Last year was my first experience playing playoff hockey at T-Mobile Arena. T-Mobile is electric already, but playoffs, it’s just another level. It’s good energy for our team. We build off that. We feed off it. Hopefully, we can put on a good show for them.”
Brandon Saad on the win…
“You can pre-scout as much as you want, but it’s going to be a different animal in the playoffs. [The Wild] have a good team over there. We are just looking to improve every game. I thought we might not have had our best tonight, but it’s nice to get the win and just keep building game by game.”
Alex Pietrangelo on the team’s excitement and preparation for the series…
“Once game day hits, I think ‘Okay, it’s here for real.’ The buildup’s always big, and I think once the game gets going, everybody settles down and finds their game. It’s always competitive at the start of the first game. We are lucky because home ice was a big thing for us. It is always a long buildup when you’re getting ready for Game 1 of the playoffs, and there’s a lot of excitement and enthusiasm around the room, but I think it feels like go time, and everybody’s getting locked in.”
Pietrangelo after Game 1 win at home…
“It is such a great atmosphere. I just feel, especially with our group, the intensity picks up, and our focus narrows in. I think we’ve got a lot of guys who love this time of the year.”
Bruce Cassidy on the most important factor of Vegas’ game…
“Competitiveness is always first. The most important element of puck management is one of our most important elements in terms of how it gets away from us. So that part is important. If we’re not managing the puck well but still making a ton of plays when we then we get away with it sometimes. It can be problematic for us when our game gets away from us. It is one of the keys to our game, of course. But competitiveness, winning your races and battles, is always at the top of the list for me. It won’t be any different.”
