In a highly intense matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild, both teams started off strong. The two sides had their fair share of high-danger scoring chances, but at the end of the first period, the scoreline was deadlocked at one apiece. Mattias Janmark got Vegas on the board for the game’s first goal with a beautiful solo effort just over five minutes into the game.
After several scoring chances and great saves by both goaltenders, the $138 million dollar man, Zach Parise, put the puck past Marc-André Fleury with a great play in front of the net. Parise’s goal gave veteran defensemen Ryan Suter his first point of the series. After serving as a healthy scratch at the beginning of the series, Parise has been a solid presence for Minnesota. He was called in to replace forward Marcus Johansson, who broke his arm earlier on in the series.
Early in the second period, the Golden Knights broke the stalemate, as defensemen Nick Hague rifled the puck from the blue-line and found the back of the net. The second-year defensemen’s goal was his first career marker in the playoffs.
Shortly after Hague’s goal, the game started to get more aggressive. Five minutes into the second period, Ryan Reaves shoved Ryan Suter into the net, which saw the right-winger sent off to the penalty box. Just a few seconds into the power play, Kirill “The Thrill” Kaprizov, out in front of the net, scored game tying goal. This would even the playing field, now knotted at two apiece.
The scoring didn’t stop there. In his first game since May 1st, Max Pacioretty got his name back where it belongs on the scoresheet to put the Golden Knights ahead 3-2. Pacioretty’s first of the postseason would serve to be the game-winning goal. After the left-winger put his team in the lead, Vegas showed no signs of slowing down. Merely halfway through the contest, Zach Whitecloud extended the Wild deficit with a laser of a shot to make it 4-2.
The Wild didn’t let up as they continued to create offence and play a physical game. With three minutes left in the second period, a scrum between the two sides ensued, which saw Nick Bjugstad get a high stick to the face, and roughing penalties handed to both sides.
The third period was all defence until the 12 minute mark. Fast forward to the 12:36 mark, Janmark potted his second of the game, putting his team up 5-2, which ultimately sealed the Wild’s season shut.
With 4:30 left in the game, Dean Evason pulled goaltender backstop Cam Talbot for the extra attacker. That allowed Mattias Janmark to bury the puck in the empty net for the hat trick. The Golden Knights took Game seven with a convincing 6-2 victory over the Wild. With that, Vegas moves on to the second round where they will face the Colorado Avalanche in what is set to be a highly entertaining series.