Jack Eichel, Nicolas Roy, and Pavel Dorofeyev each contributed a goal and an assist, Chandler Stephenson had four assists, and the Vegas Golden Knights secured a 7-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Friday night, clinching a playoff berth for the sixth time in seven seasons.
Jonathan Marchessault, Tomas Hertl, William Karlsson, and Keegan Kolesar also found the back of the net. Noah Hanifin added two assists, and Logan Thompson made 25 saves for the Golden Knights.
With this win, combined with St. Louis’ 5-2 loss to Carolina, the Golden Knights will have the opportunity to defend their Stanley Cup championship. Vegas is currently the second wild card in the Western Conference, trailing Los Angeles by one point for third place in the Pacific Division.
“You don’t want to say you were stressed, but we knew we had to win one game, and we felt confident about that tonight,” Stephenson said.
Stephenson’s four assists marked the third time in his career and the first this season he achieved this feat, reaching the 50-point mark for the third consecutive season.
Hertl’s goal was his first since being acquired from San Jose on March 8.
“It was just a great feeling,” Hertl said. “I’m more happy about clinching the playoffs today, but I feel very good to score the first one in the building because it’s a lot of fun to play here.”
Marat Khusnutdinov and Ryan Hartman scored for the Wild. Marc-Andre Fleury, facing his former team, allowed all seven goals on 30 shots, the most he has given up since Dallas scored eight on him on Nov. 12. Fleury, still a beloved figure in Vegas, had his name chanted several times by the crowd in the third period.
The Golden Knights scored three goals on special teams, including two power-play goals for the third time in five games.
The atmosphere was festive in Vegas, with fans ready to celebrate as the Knights secured a playoff spot and snapped a three-game losing streak. San Francisco 49ers star running back Christian McCaffrey was spotted wearing an Eichel jersey.
“It’s a resilient group,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “The process of getting here had some ups and downs this year. … I think we were able to put past most of those down days and focus on what’s next. We’ve done a good job of that this year.”
Once contenders for the postseason, the Wild have now lost five of their last seven games.
“We’ve got to be way better than that against any team,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “It doesn’t matter who you play, so we’ll have a good discussion tomorrow.”
The Knights scored goals on three of their first shots, two of them on special teams. Roy netted his first career short-handed goal, marking the second consecutive game the Knights scored while down a man, a first for this season. Dorofeyev and Eichel scored from the left circle, with Eichel being a one-timer on a power play.
Both teams traded power-play goals in the second period. Minnesota’s Khusnutdinov scored his first career goal, and Marchessault answered with his 42nd of the season, pulling within one of Karlsson’s franchise single-season record.
In the third period, the Knights outscored the Wild 3-1. After Kolesar’s goal, Fleury angrily swiped the puck out of the net.
This game was notable for three Wild players reaching milestones. Jonas Brodin appeared in his 800th career game, Matt Boldy in his 200th, and Marco Rossi in his 100th. Additionally, it was Liam Ohgren’s first career game.
UP NEXT
- Wild: At San Jose on Saturday.
- Golden Knights: Host Colorado on Sunday.