Knights kick off Stanley Cup chase with Game 1 win over Wild

Danny Webster, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Apr 21, 2025

Published in Hockey

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The Golden Knights, under coach Bruce Cassidy, know how to start a playoff series.

Left wing Brett Howden scored twice to lead the Knights to a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday.

Right wing Pavel Dorofeyev and center Tomas Hertl also scored, while goaltender Adin Hill made 19 saves. The Knights improved to 5-1 in series openers under Cassidy with the win.

Game 2 is 8 p.m. Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena.

“You can pre-scout as much as you want, but it’s going to be a different animal in the playoffs,” left wing Brandon Saad said. “You just want to improve every game. We might not have been at our best tonight, but it’s nice to get a win.”

It didn’t take long for Sunday’s opener to feel like a playoff game. There were four hits in the first 2:42 according to the box score, but there appeared to be at least five more.

Both teams had quality chances as well. Howden had a good look stopped by Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson. Minnesota right wing Mats Zuccarello dangled through the Knights defense for a dangerous look moments later.

Hertl was the first one to break through with 4:38 left in the first period when he stole the puck off defenseman Brock Faber’s stick and roofed a shot past Gustavsson to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Minnesota responded thanks to star left wing Kirill Kaprizov, who set up right wing Matt Boldy for a game-tying goal 2:20 later.

Things stayed even until Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek was called for high sticking, giving the Knights’ second-ranked power play an opening.

It only needed five seconds to take advantage.

Dorofeyev blasted a one-timer after receiving a pass from defenseman Shea Theodore to give the Knights a 2-1 lead with 6:27 left in the second period. It was the first playoff goal of the 24-year-old’s career.

Howden then doubled his team’s lead 2:28 into the third period after taking a transition pass from center Nicolas Roy and sniping a shot past Gustavsson.

Boldy converted on a wraparound with 8:14 remaining, cutting the Wild’s deficit to 3-2. The Knights didn’t buckle. Howden ended things by scoring an empty-net, power-play goal with one second left.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Goals from likely sources

The Knights’ first two goals of the playoffs came from their top two scorers in the regular season.

Dorofeyev (35) and Hertl (32) combined for 67 goals this season while mostly playing on the same line. Howden also picked up where he left off after scoring a career-high 23 goals in the regular season.

2. Hill’s first Game 1 start

The Knights’ No. 1 goalie has won a Stanley Cup, but Sunday was the first time Hill started a playoff opener for his team.

He was sharp and picked up his 13th playoff win.

3. Rookie’s debut

Defenseman Zeev Buium had a rough night in his NHL debut.

The 19-year-old, who was selected 12th overall at last year’s draft at Sphere, played 13:27 but didn’t look comfortable. He made some questionable decisions with the puck on his stick.

The future is still bright for Buium, who was a finalist for the Hobey Baker award for the best player in college hockey at the University of Denver this season. But asking him to step right into an NHL playoff series was a tough ask.