Boldy has goal, assist, Gustavsson makes 30 saves for Minnesota, which takes lead in Western 1st Round
Golden Knights at Wild | Recap | Round 1, Game 3
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Kirill Kaprizov scored two goals for the second straight game, and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 in Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.
Minnesota leads the best-of-7 series 2-1. Game 4 will be here on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; FDSNNO, SCRIPPS, MAX, truTV, TBS, SNP, SNW, SN1, TVAS).
“It always feel good when you win games,” Kaprizov said. “We don’t care who scored, who has how many points or whatever. You just want to win games and see a team game.”
VGK@MIN, Gm3: Kaprizov gets second PPG in waning seconds of 2nd
Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy each had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who are the first wild card from the Western Conference. Filip Gustavsson made 30 saves.
“’Gus’ has been solid and that’s what we need from him,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “He’s made key saves at key times for us, and a lot of times that’s the difference in games. Teams are going to get pushes, there’s going to be mistakes. It’s nice to see Gus with the mindset that he’s playing with and the confidence level that he has, and he’s making key saves for us when we need him the most, and that’s important at any time of year, but particularly in the playoffs.”
Alex Pietrangelo and Reilly Smith scored for the Golden Knights, who are the No. 1 seed from the Pacific Division. Adin Hill allowed four goals on 21 shots before being replaced by Akira Schmid, who made nine saves in the third period.
“Well, it’s going to be a challenge as it is for them. That’s playoff hockey,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “… I thought as we went along we did a better job. No issues with that. … I guess where I’d say we’ve got to be better is taking away the goalie’s eyes once you do get your action at the net. You got to get ready for a rebound chance or two. We had some looks, but I don’t think that was the issue tonight. I liked our engagement. O-zone, we were similar to the second half of the game the other night (a 5-2 loss in Game 2 on Tuesday), I thought, at times where we could sustain some pressure. … It just got away from us there at the end with some unfortunate circumstances, and that’s hockey some nights.”
VGK@MIN, Gm3: Kaprizov finds twine for PPG and 1-0 lead
Kaprizov gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead on the power play at 3:13 of the first period. He skated the puck around the net, all the way up the right side and into the top of the slot, where he scored blocker side with a quick wrist shot through a screen. Defenseman Zeev Buium had the primary assist on the play for his first NHL point.
Rossi made it 2-0 at 6:51. Hill stopped a dump-in behind the net, but his clear up the boards was blocked by Justin Brazeau. Yakov Trenin then got the puck and fed a cutting Rossi in the low slot for his first career playoff goal.
Pietrangelo got Vegas to within 2-1 at 10:48 with a slap shot from above the right circle.
“Huge goal by ‘Petro,’” Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev said. “Definitely brings us back to the game, especially coming for the second period. They just probably scored their power-play goals. Overall, I think we had a really good game, just made some mistakes and just lost the game.”
Boldy extended the lead to 3-1 at 11:05 of the second period. He chased down Noah Hanifin, stole the puck from the defenseman behind Vegas’ net, and skated out into the bottom of the right circle before turning and scoring short side on Hill.
VGK@MIN, Gm3: Boldy’s incredible effort pays off to make it 3-1
Kaprizov made it 4-1 with a power-play goal with two seconds remaining in the period. He got inside position on Hanifin at the left post and deflected in Ryan Hartman‘s shot from the right boards.
“Yeah, it’s so smart by him,” Kaprizov said. “That’s what I tell him too, ‘smart play.’”
Kaprizov (four goals, three assists) and Boldy (four goals, two assists) have each recorded a multipoint performance in all three games of the series.
“I mean, I think how hard they work is really setting the standard for the whole team,” Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek said. “Probably the two hardest working guys every night, I mean making plays and then being on those pucks. It’s fun for sure.”
Smith cut the deficit to 4-2 at 11:34 of the third period, finishing a feed from William Karlsson on a 2-on-1 short-handed rush.
Gustavsson preserved the two-goal lead by making a glove save on Jack Eichel on a power play at 14:31.
Marcus Foligno scored into an empty net during a 6-on-4 short-handed situation at 18:27 for the 5-2 final.
“There’s no need for panic,” Karlsson said. “It’s one game at a time. All we can focus on is the next one, and you know, have a status quo going back to Vegas (for Game 5). That’s what we’re aiming for.”
NOTES: Wild forward Marcus Johansson left in the third period with an undisclosed injury. There was no update postgame. … Minnesota has earned consecutive wins after losing the opening game of a series for just the third time in its history. It also did it against the St. Louis Blues in the 2022 Western Conference First Round, and against the Colorado Avalanche in the 2008 Western Conference Quarterfinals.
🔹Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
🔹Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
🔹Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals
🔹New Jersey Devils vs. Carolina Hurricanes
🔹St. Louis Blues vs. Winnipeg Jets
🔹Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars
🔹Minnesota Wild vs. Vegas Golden Knights
🔹Edmonton Oilers vs. Los Angeles Kings
