VGK advances to next round of the playoffs after eliminating Wild on the road

The Vegas Golden Knights were in another tough game, but once again prevailed on the road to get the win and advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Golden Knights defeated the Minnesota Wild, 3-2, Thursday, May 1 from the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

“We found ways to win,” head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “They got better as the series went on and it showed, and kind of culminated tonight.”

Thursday night’s game was the third straight game of the series to be decided by one goal, which were all won by Vegas. As a result, this year’s VGK squad became the first team in the Western Conference to advance to the next round.

It was the fifth time in the Golden Knights’ eight-year franchise history that they advanced to the second round of the playoffs and the 12th time they have won a series since their inaugural 2017-18 season.

The Golden Knights will play against the Edmonton Oilers in the next round. Game 1 will be at the T-Mobile Arena, but the date and time have yet to be determined.

During the regular season, the Western Conference standouts split four meetings.

The last time the Knights played against Edmonton in the playoffs was in the second round of 2023. VGK won that series in six games and went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Vegas came into Game 6 focused and got right into action with their goal less than five minutes into the first period. Defenseman Shea Theodore scored on the power play off assists from left-wing Victor Olofsson and center Jack Eichel.

“I thought it showed a lot of resiliency in our group,” Eichel said. “Just a ton of credit to the group, finding a way to win. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters this time of year.”

Olofsson’s assist on the goal was his first career postseason point.

Later with less than four minutes left in the second period, Eichel found the back of the net with help from captain Mark Stone and defenseman Brayden McNabb.

It was a multi-point performance for Eichel, who finished the game with a goal and an assist apiece, to give him five points in this series.

“Everyone stepped up at different parts of the series and found ways to contribute,” Eichel said. “That’s how you win this time of year.”

Oddly enough, with less than four minutes to go in regulation, it was Stone’s turn to light the lamp for what turned out to be the game-winning goal with assists from McNabb and Theodore.

Stone also wrapped up the night with a multi-point game, with also recording a goal and an assist apiece, to increase his point total to four in this postseason.

It was a great turnaround for Eichel and Stone, whose improved performances throughout the series led to Vegas winning the series, after they both failed to record a single point through the first three games.

“[Stone’s] the heartbeat of the team, he’s our leader, he’s the captain,” McNabb said. “So, when he’s going, similar to Eichel […] When they’re going, we’re a great team.”

McNabb had a multi-point night as well with his two assists, to give him three points in these playoffs. Theodore joined along in the multi-point party with a goal and an assist apiece, to bring his point total up to four in the series.

Once again, the man who was tasked to be the goalie for the Knights was cup run hero Adin Hill. He and the defense had another tough back-and-forth performance in this game, but that’s common for a competitive playoff series.

By the final buzzer, Hill wrapped up the game with 29 saves on 31 shots on goal for a .935 save percentage. He wrapped up the series going 4-2-0 when being on the ice.

“I thought our guys battled well, we did a good job, and here we are,” Hill said. “We won in six, so I’m happy to move on.”

The VGK were without left-wing Pavel Dorofeyev, who was out with an undisclosed injury that he suffered at the end of Game 5.

Fortunately for the Golden Knights, they were able to prevail without the man who scored a team-leading 35 goals in the regular season.

With Vegas moving on, it also marks the end of the career of Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. The veteran goalie is loved by the Knights’ faithful for being the first pick by the franchise in their expansion draft and was one of the faces from their inaugural 2017-18 squad that won the Western Conference and went to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Fleury’s final appearance on the ice came in Game 5 on Tuesday at The Fortress. Despite being on the other team, he was greeted with cheers from the Vegas fans and appeared to be appreciative of the crowd in what would be the final game in Vegas of his career.