Meltdown In Minnesota As Wild Score Two Goals In Final 1:32 To Defeat Golden Knights, 6-5, Monday; VGK Goalie Lehner: ‘We Had The Game In Our Hands’
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By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Just the facts: Minnesota Wild 6 Vegas Golden Knights 5
Disastrous ending for VGK: Minnesota trailed, 5-4, but scored final two goals in final 1:32 of game
Minnesota has Vegas’ number?: Wild has taken five of seven games from Vegas this season, including the last five games
Records: Vegas 36-13-2 for 74 points, Minnesota 33-14-4 for 70 points
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Even by typical Minnesota vs. Vegas close game standards, Monday’s Wild/Knights showdown had an extra dash of craziness as the Golden Knights broke down in the final minutes and lost a painful 6-5 decision to Minnesota.
The Golden Knights were nursing a 5-4 lead late in the game when the Wild scored two late-game goals to snatch two points in the heated West Division race for first as VGK goalie Robin Lehner played arguably his worse game as a Knights player.
It’s not every game where you see both teams have to pull their goalie for an extra attacker in the final two minutes. Minnesota did it when goaltender Cam Talbot skated off the ice and the Wild scored the equalizer at 18:28 and then the goal that turned out to be the game-winner a mere 26 seconds later. When Minnesota scored to take the 6-5 lead, it was the VGK’s turn to swap out their netminder for a sixth skater.
“We played really good for most part of the third. They’re a dangerous team,” Lehner said after the game.
The Golden Knights actually led, 5-3, mid-way through the third period before Minnesota’s Kevin Fiala (20th goal of the season), Kirill Kaprizov (24th) and Jonas Brodin (9th) scored to secure the 6-5 win for the Wild. Kaprizov scored with a minute and 32 seconds left in the game, while Brodin notched the game-winner with only 66 seconds left in the third period.
The silver linings are we worked hard to put ourselves in a position to win with a couple minutes left, did a lot of good things and thankfully it’s not two weeks from now in a playoff series. — Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer
“We have to handle momentum swings better,” VGK captain and forward Mark Stone said. “We’ve got to seal the deal. We’ve got to keep playing for the entire game.”
Minnesota has been a nemesis for the Golden Knights since VGK’s Season 1, Vegas has won only a single game out of eight tries in Minnesota since the Knights came into the NHL in 2017-18.
The loss did feature the debut of Golden Knights top prospect Peyton Krebs, who played on the third line with wingers Alex Tuch and Nic Roy.
Here’s Krebs warming up before the game.
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It was a high-scoring opening 20 minutes.
Joel Eriksson Ek opened the scoring with his 18th, but the Knights countered with goals by defensemen Shea Theodore (8th) and Alec Martinez (also 8th) for a Vegas 2-1 lead.
After Minnesota’s Nick Bonino scored his eighth to knot the game at two, VGK forward Alex Tuch put the Knights ahead, 3-2, after one period with his 18th. Krebs notched his first career NHL point with an assist on the Tuch goal.
The Knights took a 4-2 lead in the second period when Stone scored his 21st off a nice steal and then soft drop pass by linemate Chandler Stephenson.
Minnesota’s Bonino (9) and VGK’s Jonathan Marchessault (16) traded goals and the Knights led, 5-3, heading into the final 20 minutes. The Marchessault goal resulted from nice passes from Roy, William Karlsson and Martinez.
The Knights and Wild go at it again Wednesday in Minnesota.
The Wild have pulled within four points of the Knights. VGK have 74 points, while Minnesota is at 70. Colorado came back to defeat San Jose, 5-4, in OT and pulled within 2 points of VGK. The Avs have 72 points.
Monday’s scores:
PSA
