Punctuated by one of the weirdest empty-net goals you’ll ever see, the Minnesota Wild were able to rally and stay alive in the opening round of the 2020-21 NHL playoffs, with a 4-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. A Golden Knights victory would’ve marked the first time they’ve closed a playoff series with a win on home ice.
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Golden Knights captain Mark Stone opened the scoring just 8:14 into the first period. A streaking Stone received a nice touch pass from Alex Tuch (a Tuch pass if you will) and buried the one-on-one chance. His quick wrist shot beat Cam Talbot to the glove.
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Fans both near and far felt Stone’s energy. The T-Mobile Arena erupted. The series was continuing to go the Golden Knights’ way, nothing could stop them. Beating the Wild in five would be legendary, considering their regular season woes with Minnesota!
1:52 later....
Kirill Kaprizov has entered the chat....
Before Bruce Cusick could finish announcing the Stone goal, Kaprizov knotted the game at one goal apiece. Through the first four games, Kaprizov was held to one (primary) assist, but then the phenom scored at the most critical point of the series thus far. He caught a cross-ice pass from Mats Zuccarello and torched a wrist shot into the top corner of the net.
Just like that, the energy that blew the roof off the T-Mobile Arena was sucked out just as quickly and not nearly as enjoyably. The mitigating factors of the goal were painful.
1. Brayden McNabb and Chandler Stephenson collided leaving Kaprizov wide open.
2. The Stone line turned the puck over, which led to the Zuccarello rush.
3. It was the first SOG of the game for the Wild.
Marc-Andre Fleury came into the game with an insane stat line, one that included a 0.99 GAA and .966 save percentage. Next thing you know, he’s given up one goal on one shot. Not a great start.
And it got worse....
Zach Parise, the same Zach Parise who was a healthy scratch for the first three games of the series, scored a go-ahead goal 2:51 later. He recovered Jonas Brodin’s bank shot off the back boards and shot it off Fleury and in, giving his club a 2-1 lead. Still donning an A on his chest, Parise looked fired up and like Kaprizov, he chose the perfect time to light the lamp.
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Parise was able to capitalize with both Stone and Nick Holden puck-watching out front, while Zach Whitecloud was on Jordan Greenway. The goal happened pretty quickly, but it made the score 2-1 on Minnesota’s third shot of the game.
Jordan Greenway added a third goal with 3:26 left in the opening period. He sent a wrist shot at Fleury, which was easily turned away, but then outworked both Holden and Alec Martinez as he punched in his rebound.
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Six shots, three goals. Fleury and the Golden Knights as a whole, went from looking impenetrable to extremely beatable. This period felt eerily similar to their regular season matchups. Golden Knights push the play, Wild capitalize on their few chances.
Minnesota was having trouble scoring in four straight games. All of a sudden, they got three in a period. One of these games were bound to come, but three in a period seemed unfathomable considering the way Vegas had dominated.
Game 1: 1-0 Wild
Game 2: 3-1 VGK
Game 3: 5-2 VGK
Game 4: 4-0 VGK
This Wild team, on the brink of elimination, went from four goals in four games to three in the first period. They’d ultimately end up with four on the Nico Sturm bank-shot empty net goal, doubling their series output in Game Five.
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To their credit, the Golden Knights dominated the second period. There is no mincing words, when I say dominated. The visiting Wild managed just one SOG while Vegas peppered Cam Talbot with 22 of their own. Alec Martinez scored the lone goal of the period, a PPG from the point that changed direction off Brodin.
One look at Natural Stat Trick’s Gameflow chart shows the push the Golden Knights made. They never rolled over, they never stopped pushing play. Talbot had a stellar game and was able to shut the door down the stretch.
Will the Wild have enough to win two more games and steal the series? Probably not.
Should this game be a wake up call for the Vegas Golden Knights and remind them just how dangerous the Wild can be? You betcha.
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