The Vegas Golden Knights began play as an NHL expansion team in 2017-18 and enjoyed immediate success, reaching the Stanley Cup Final that inaugural season and playing in the Western Conference final last year.
Golden Knights have no problems sweeping at Xcel Energy Center
After winning the season series with Vegas, the Wild sees a different story in the playoffs.
May 23, 2021 at 5:10AM
A thorn in the Golden Knights' side during the regular season, however, has been the Wild, which owns an 11-2-3 mark against Vegas, including 5-1-2 in 2020-21.
Emphasis there is on the regular season. It's the playoffs now, and the Golden Knights are having their say.
With a 4-0 victory over the Wild in Game 4 on Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center, Vegas put the West Division first-round series in a 3-1 headlock with Game 5 coming Monday night in Sin City.
"When you go on the road, you're hoping for a split, but when you win that first game, your mind-set changes," Vegas forward Mark Stone said. "We wanted to leave with two after we got that first one."
While the Wild's 6-0-2 record against Vegas at Xcel was one of the pre-series story lines, Golden Knights coach Pete DeBoer wasn't thinking that way.
"We all know Minnesota's record in here, and we all heard how good they are playing from home from them," DeBoer said after Saturday's two-game road sweep. "You take [leading goal-scorer Max] Pacioretty and [defenseman Brayden] McNabb out of the lineup, and there was a lot of things stacked against us. Like our group's done all year, they ignored the noise, went to work and got rewarded."
The Golden Knights aren't lacking in confidence in playing in St. Paul after their performances in Games 3 and 4. Since the Wild took a 2-0 lead on Thursday, Vegas has outscored Minnesota 9-0.
Saturday's game turned on a few key moments that went the Golden Knights' way.
• After Nicolas Roy's goal gave Vegas a 1-0 lead in the first period, Wild center Joel Eriksson Ek wired a shot past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 19 seconds later. DeBoer challenged for goaltender interference, wiping out the goal, the second consecutive game in which the Wild had a goal disallowed after replay challenge.
• Alex Tuch, boosted the Vegas lead to 2-0 at 9:08 of the second by flying into the Minnesota zone, splitting a pair of defenders and beating goalie Cam Talbot.
"It looked very simple," Stone said, "but I can't say I've been at that speed to make that kind of play."
• Stone got to show off his wheels later in the second. With the Wild on a four-minute power play, Matt Dumba lost the puck along the boards. Stone collected the puck, chipped it past Ryan Suter at the blue line and skated down the ice to beat Talbot for a 3-0 lead at 13:41. Stone then celebrated exuberant
"Scored the goal, lost my stick, net went off and I lost my mind," he said.
Now, the Golden Knights have three chances to finish the series.
"The hardest game is trying to close out a team," Stone said. "We're going to have to expect their best effort."
For the Wild, four points behind the league-leading Jets, this will be their most anticipated matchup against a division rival since they lost 2-1 to the Stars on Nov. 16.
