Brett Howen scored two goals including a game-winner during the third period, and Vegas Golden Nights defeated Minnesota Wilde 4–2 in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round Series on Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Tomas Hurtle had a goal and one aid, Edin Hill made 18 saves and Pavel Dorofav also scored for Vegas, which improved 9–2 in playoff openers at T-Mobile Arena.
The best matchup with Game 2 in Las Vegas on Tuesday continues on Tuesday, St. Paul for two games, Minan. Before going into.
Matt Bolidi scored both Wildere goals and Kiril Kapriazov assisted both. Philip Gustavasan stopped 23 out of 26 shots.
Vegas, after winning the Pacific Division with 110 points in the west, took the second seed in the west, a 1-0 lead at the first period of 15:22, when Hurtal stole a collision from the Defenseman Brock Faber under the left circle and then wandering around the gustavson’s right on the right shoulder. This was Hurtle’s 26th career playoff goal.
Minnesota, the top Western Conference, after earning a wild-card spot, the seventh seed tied it slightly after two minutes when Kaprizov hit the bidy under the left wing with a cross-Ice pass. Boldy then fired a wrist pill inside the distant post to make it 1–1.
Vegas took a 2–1 lead through a second period on a power-play round by Vegas, which passed a Sheiya Theodore from the right circle of the glove side of Gustavasana. This was the first career playoff goal for Dorofav, which led the Golden Nights with 35 goals in the regular session.
The wild two were lucky to be down from just one goal at the end of the two periods as Gustavasana stopped the breakway by both Brandon Saad and Jack Echhel in this period.
Hown took a 3–1 lead at the third period of 2:28, when he ended an odd-man congestion with a wrist shot from the left circle, which reached the top of the right shoulder of Gustavasana.
Boldi cut it to 3–2 midways through a period when he scooped a shot rebound by Kapriazov and backhand in a rapomound shot inside the left post.
Minnesota pulled Gustavasana to an additional attacker with 1:30 remaining, but Boldi picked up a tripping penalty at 29 seconds on William Carlson. Howen defeated the clock with an empty-neck score on power play with just 0.1 seconds.
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