The Vegas Golden Knights (43-28-8) clinched their sixth playoff berth in franchise history with a resounding 7-2 win against the Minnesota Wild (37-33-9) on Friday night at T-Mobile Arena.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
Nicolas Roy opened the scoring for Vegas with a shorthanded goal 2:57 into the opening frame. Less than four minutes later, Pavel Dorofeyev extended the Golden Knights' lead to 2-0, followed by Jack Eichel who potted his 30th goal of the season on the power play to give Vegas a 3-0 lead heading into the second. The Wild netted their first goal of the game with a power-play goal from Marat Khusnutdinov 7:42 into the period, cutting Vegas' lead to 3-1. Jonathan Marchessault responded with a power-play goal of his own five minutes later, extending the lead to 4-1. Tomas Hertl secured his first goal as a Golden Knight as Vegas' lead grew to 5-1. Despite a goal from Ryan Hartman, William Karlsson and Keegan Kolesar each scored for Vegas three minutes apart, bringing the final to 7-2.
TOP PEFORMERS
Jack Eichel: Eichel scored his 30th goal of the season, and is the fourth 30-goal scorer in franchise history (also Marchessault twice, Pacioretty 2019-20, Karlsson 2017-18). It marks his second 30-goal season in the NHL.
Chandler Stephenson: Stephenson reached the 50-point mark for the third consecutive season (16G, 34A).
Jonathan Marchessault: Marchessault scored his 42nd goal of the season. He now sits one tally away from matching Karlsson’s franchise record of 43 (2017-18).
Noah Hanifin: Hanifin extended his point streak to three games (1G, 3A).
Tomas Hertl: Hertl's first goal as a Golden Knights came in his third game with the team.
VGK STATS OF THE KNIGHT
Chandler Stephenson recorded his third four-assist game with Vegas and tied Mark Stone for the most in franchise history.
Nicolas Roy scored the fastest shorthanded goal from the start of a game in franchise history, besting William Karlsson (6:18 on March 30, 2018).
With Eichel's 30th goal, Vegas has two 30-goal scorers in the same season for the first time in franchise history.
BECAUSE VGK WON...
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ATTENDANCE: 18,415
LOOKING AHEAD
The Vegas Golden Knights continue their homestand as they host the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. Catch the action on TNT, truTV, MAX, and on FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340 and Deportes Vegas 1460.
