Jack Eichel scored his first goal of the series to give the Vegas the lead late in the second period, and Adin Hill held it up on a 29-save night to spur the Golden Knights onto the second round with a 3-2 victory in Game 6 that ousted the Minnesota Wild
Vegas moves on with 3-2 win in series clincher, as Wild go 1-and-done yet againBy DAVE CAMPBELLAP Sports WriterThe Associated PressST. PAUL, Minn.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Jack Eichel and Mark Stone made clear they belong together, on a Vegas first line that can be one of the most potent in these NHL playoffs.
Eichel and Stone each had a goal and an assist and Adin Hill made 29 saves for the Golden Knights, who became the first Western Conference team to reach the second round with a 3-2 victory in Game 6 that ousted the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.
“They gave us everything we could handle,” Eichel said. “They played so hard.”
Shea Theodore scored on a power play early in the first period, Eichel got his first goal of the series late in the second period and Stone had the critical late score for Vegas, which will face the winner of the Edmonton-Los Angeles series. The Oilers took a 3-2 lead on the Kings into Game 6 on their home ice later on Thursday.
The Wild have lost nine consecutive series, tied for the third-longest streak in NHL history, according to Sportradar. Their skid of eight straight one-and-done appearances is tied for the second-longest in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Wild, who last made it out of the first round 10 years ago, got two goals from Ryan Hartman, including a wraparound with 3:27 left that came 31 seconds after Stone had given the Golden Knights a two-goal lead.
Stone, who set up Eichel with a long pass out of the zone that was inches out of reach of the stick of Kirill Kaprizov after he dived to try to prevent the breakaway that beat goalie Filip Gustavsson, had four points in the last three games.
“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.”
Neither Stone nor Eichel recorded a single point in the first three games, thanks in part to the bruising Wild who frequently took away the middle of the ice and most of the Golden Knights’ opportunities to use their speed.
Coach Bruce Cassidy shuffled the lines for Game 4, which helped ignite more of an attack. The absence of Pavel Dorofeyev in Game 6 prompted Cassidy to reunite Eichel and Stone in the top trio alongside William Karlsson.
“They got better as the series went on,” Cassidy said.
Hartman tied the game for the Wild with 4 seconds left in the first period, a goal safe from replay review unlike his go-ahead score in Game 5 with 1:15 remaining in regulation that was revoked for an offside call after Vegas challenged.
The Golden Knights went on to win their second straight overtime decision, before finishing off the Wild with a third consecutive one-goal win.
“We hear the noise of getting by the first round. We understand it,” Wild left wing Marcus Foligno said. “We really felt like we could’ve done it this year, and that’s the disappointing part, right?”
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
