The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Minnesota Wild 2-1 on Saturday, and have now picked up points in each of their last 6 games played. The Golden Knights and Wild played to a 0-0 tie for all of the first and most of the second period, and the Wild broke through on the power play while Vegas was killing off a five-minute major taken by Jack Eichel. The Golden Knights’ forward was ejected from the game after taking a spearing penalty, and Kirill Kaprizov, the player Eichel “jabbed” at, got Minnesota on the board.
The Golden Knights entered the final period trailing 1-0, and were unable to break through until there was 6:17 left in regulation, and Michael Amadio picked up his 13th goal of the season to give the team much needed life.
Both sides were kept off the board for the remainder of the period, and entered overtime in search of a second point.
What happened next was rare, as the Wild pulled goaltender Filip Gustavsson while they had possession of the puck in the 3-on-3 overtime. Minnesota is desperate for points as they try to keep their playoff hopes alive, but it backfired when Jonathan Marchessault got the puck and fired it into the empty net.
The Wild forfeited the point they earned in regulation because the goal was scored with the goaltender pulled, and it was a risk they were fine with taking because they had previously done this against Nashville Predators and scored to win the game 4-3 in OT.
Logan Thompson was amazing for the second start in a row, and was named the game’s No. 1 star after making 32 saves. Marchessault’s empty-net goal was his 40th overall goal this season, and he became the second player in team history to score at least 40 goals in a single season. William Karlsson currently holds the team record with 43 goals in a single season which was set in the team’s inaugural season.
The Golden Knights currently sit in 3rd place in the Pacific Division with 90 points in 74 games, and will hold that for now as the Los Angeles Kings, who have a game in hand, have 87 points. Vegas will be off on Sunday and Monday, and return to action on Tuesday at home against the division leading Vancouver Canucks.