4/22/25 Western Conference Stanley Cup Playoffs Game Recap

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Minnesota Wild (GAME 2)

The Minnesota Wild won Game 2 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights. This game took place at T-Mobile Arena and ended with a final score of 5-2 in the Wild’s favor.

Game 2 of this series started off slow until halfway through the period when Wild’s #12 Matt Boldy successfully scored a wrist shot which got past Knights’ goaltender, #33 Aiden Hill, and momentarily made it a one-goal game (1-0). The Wild’s goal scoring momentum continued with #17 Marcus Foligno extending the team’s lead a minute and forty seconds after #12 Boldy’s opening goal (2-0). With two-minutes and thirty-four seconds left in the period, Wild’s #36 Mats Zuccaeello made it a three-goal game with a wrist shot goal assisted by #90 Marcus Johansson. Although the Knights had a couple scoring chances in the final five minutes of the period, the Wilds’ defense and stellar goaltending from #32 Filip Gustavsson greatly contributed to the team ending the first period with a 3-0 lead.

#97 Kirill Kaprizov lit up the second period with a snap shot scored three minutes and fifty-nine seconds into the period which put the Wild up 4-0. The Knights were able to cut their goal-deficit by three goals after #14 Noah Hanifin slipped a goal past #32 Gustavsson in the latter half of the period (4-1). After #14 Hanifin’s goal, both the Wild and Knights were unable to generate any additional goals and ended the second period with a 4-1 in the Wild’s favor.

The Knights’ goal-deficit was cut when #48 Tomas Hertl scored a wrist shot, assisted by #7 Alex Pietrangelo and #20 Brandon Saad, two minutes and twenty-six seconds into the third period (4-2). After a series of blocked shots, hits, and great saves, the Knights’ penalty kill was put to the test when #3 Brayden McNabb received a holding penalty in the second half of the period. Despite having the man-advantage, the game remained at a standstill after the Wild were unable to generate any goal-scoring opportunities on their power play opportunity as the Knights’ penalty kill remained strong with a 100% success rate. Wild’s #97 Kaprizov broke the standstill and forced Game 5 of the series after he finalized the team’s 5-3 win with a goal scored in the final three minutes of the period.

The standout players

Minnesota Wild

Forward: #97 Kirill Kaprizov ended the game with 3 points (2G, 1A)
Defensemen: #25 Jonas Brodin assisted one goal during this game
Goaltender: #32 Filip Gustavsson had a save percentage of 0.938% after he saved 30 out of 32 shots on goal

Vegas Golden Knights

Forward: #48 Tomas Hertl scored the second Knights goal during this game
Defensemen: #15 Noah Hanifin the first Knights goal of this game
Goaltender: #33 Adin Hill had a save percentage of 0.750% after he saved 12 out of 16 shots on goal

Stats

The Knights outshot the Wild (32 SOG vs. 17 SOG)
The Wild delivered more hits than the Knights (36 hits vs. 26 hits)
The Knights won more faceoffs than the Wild (58.8% vs. 41.2%)
Both teams ended with a 0% power play success rate as the Knights were not given any power play opportunities while the Wild was unable to capitalize on their one opportunity

SUMMARY: Despite the Knights having the advantage during this game in regards to puck possession and faceoff wins, the Wild’s physicality, offense, and goaltending was what kept them in the game and extended their series to Game 5.

Upcoming Games

GAME 3