7 Observations: Stunned Golden Knights Unravel; Wild Lead Series

It’s not yet time for the Vegas Golden Knights to hit the panic button. But as the final horn sounded on Thursday, sealing their second consecutive 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild, the warning bells got slightly louder. 

After a bad loss on Tuesday, the Golden Knights needed a strong start. That wasn’t what happened. Instead, they were uncharacteristically undisciplined; the Wild took an early lead on the power play and never took their foot off the gas. 

Just 3:13 into the first period, the Wild took the lead. Kirill Kaprizov circled the net, drifted to the point, and wristed a seeing-eye shot on net that beat Adin Hill through traffic.

At 6:51 in the first period, the Wild extended their lead. Adin Hill misplayed the puck on a dump-in, and Justin Brazeau found Yakov Trenin below the goal line. Shea Theodore left his position to chase Trenin, leaving Marco Rossi completely alone in the slot.

The Golden Knights found a pulse at 10:48 in the first period. Noah Hanifin passed to Alex Pietrangelo, who entered the zone, strode to the right circle, and unleashed a clapper that beat Filip Gustavsson clean.

At 11:05 in the second period, the Wild regained their two-goal lead after the officials muffed an icing call. Matt Boldy pestered Noah Hanifin behind the net, forced a turnover, and beat Adin Hill in close.

The Wild extended their lead with less than two seconds remaining in the second period. Adin Hill saved Kirill Kaprizov’s shot, and Marco Rossi rimmed the puck around to Ryan Hartman. Kaprizov shrugged off Noah Hanifin in front of the net and redirected Hartman’s shot past Hill.

At 11:34 in the third period, the Golden Knights cut into Minnesota’s lead while shorthanded. Zach Whitecloud blocked Kirill Kaprizov’s shot, and Reilly Smith chipped the puck to William Karlsson at center ice. Karlsson entered the zone and found Smith streaking toward the net, who waited until Filip Gustavsson went down and slid the puck around him.

The Golden Knights pushed, but Filip Gustavsson was up to the task. They failed to score on two late-game power plays, including a 6-on-4 that saw Marcus Foligno hit the empty net.

Three stars of the game: Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Filip Gustavsson

7 Golden Knights Observations

1. The Golden Knights’ best players can’t do anything right now– not at even strength or on the man advantage. It’s officially becoming a problem. The Wild are not having this issue in the slightest. 

2. The Golden Knights need an answer for the Kirill Kaprizov line because it doesn’t appear to be the Jack Eichel line. On Thursday, they matched up for 9:37 at 5-on-5; the Kaprizov line outshot them 15-8, controlled 77% of the expected goalshare, and scored a goal.

3. Noah Hanifin appears to have replaced Shea Theodore on the top power play unit. Theodore played better on Thursday than Tuesday, but I like this adjustment.

4. The Golden Knights pulled Adin Hill for the first time in his Stanley Cup Playoff career. He let in four goals and saved -2.49 above expected. Akira Schmid did well in relief and saved 1.03 goals above expected.

5. For the first time in a long time, the Golden Knights power play failed to come through in a big moment. They’re 2-for-6 this series, with both goals coming in the first game. Nothing has gone right for the Golden Knights offensively over the past two games.

6. The Golden Knights were never going to remain perfect on the penalty kill, but conceding two bad goals in one game is a recipe for disaster.

7​​. This series is far from over, but if the Golden Knights want to come back and win, they must remember how to score. To do that, they need to shoot the puck. The Golden Knights entered the second period down 2-1, but the Wild outshot them 14-6.

FOR MORE GOLDEN KNIGHTS NEWS AND UP-TO-DATE COVERAGE, VISIT VEGAS HOCKEY NOW AND LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.

FOLLOW US ON 𝕏:

@VegasHockeyNow
@h_kirk6