Golden Knights defeat Wild in Game 7, advance to Stanley Cup Second Round

LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights eliminated the Minnesota Wild with a 6-2 win in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup First Round at T-Mobile Arena on Friday.

Vegas will play the Colorado Avalanche in the second round. Game 1 is at Colorado on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).
Mattias Janmark scored his first NHL hat trick, and Max Pacioretty scored in his first game since May 1 for the Golden Knights, the No. 2 seed in the Honda West Division. Marc-Andre Fleury made 19 saves.
Janmark scored one goal in 15 regular-season games with Vegas after being acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on April 12.
"It's what every player dreams of, to score in a Game 7," Janmark said. "It's hard to believe that it's going to happen to you, but today, bounces were going in. It's a dream come true, for sure."

The Wild, the No. 3 seed, played Game 7 for the third time in their history after trailing a best-of-7 series 3-1. Kirill Kaprizov and Zach Parise scored, and Cam Talbot made 29 saves.
"I think we all firmly believed with where we were a handful days ago, down 3-1 and making it 3-3, we all firmly believed we were going to win this game tonight," Parise said. "We didn't quit. We played, we competed, but just couldn't get that third one."
It's the third consecutive season the Golden Knights played Game 7 after leading a series 3-1; they defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the second round last season and lost to the San Jose Sharks in the 2019 first round.
"You hope that moments like that galvanize your group," Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. "When we talked this morning in our team meeting, we talked about how we felt we were prepared for this tonight. We were ready to go and we had all hands on deck … we felt with that lineup that we would be a hard team to beat tonight."
Janmark gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 5:09 of the first period after getting a loose puck and deking to his forehand. Parise tied it 1-1 at 16:49 when he deflected Ryan Suter's shot between his legs.
Nicolas Hague gave Vegas a 2-1 lead 2:05 into the second period with a shot from the point off a face-off from the left circle.
"It was a ton of fun," Hague said. "The building was rocking, which is always awesome, but it was on another level tonight. A little nervous at first, but boy was it fun."

Kaprizov tied it 2-2 on the power play at 4:35.
"Just disappointing," Wild forward Marcus Foligno said. "We had a pretty good start and made it 2-2. We liked our chances but couldn't get a lot generating after that."
Pacioretty gave Vegas a 3-2 lead at 7:44 on a one-timer from Chandler Stephenson. The forward was returning from an undisclosed injury.
"There were some good days and bad days, but I turned the corner there a couple of days ago," Pacioretty said. "A lot of people behind the scenes were helping me around the clock to get to where I'm at, and that's what helped me feel so good tonight."
Zach Whitecloud made it 4-2 at 13:38.
Janmark pushed it to 5-2 at 12:36 of the third period on a one-timer from Nicolas Roy, then scored his third into an empty net at 16:53 for the 6-2 final.
"It was a hard series," Janmark said. "Minnesota's a good team. We were up 3-1 and you want to close those games out when you get the chance, but they're a good team. They fought back. What I've learned throughout my career in the playoffs is that you have to go through these games if you want to get far. You've got to know how to play."
NOTES: Janmark is the eighth player to score a hat trick in Game 7. Joel Kiviranta did so last season for the Dallas Stars against the Avalanche in the Western Conference Second Round. … Vegas became the third NHL team to win a playoff series in three of its first four seasons (New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues). … Pacioretty scored his third series-clinching goal and second game-winner in Game 7. He trails Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks (five) and Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins (four) for most among active players. … DeBoer is 6-0 in Game 7, the fourth coach in NHL history to win at least six (Darryl Sutter, 7-3; Scotty Bowman, 6-3; Pat Burns, 6-3). … Kaprizov is the first Wild rookie to score a point in Game 7. … Parise's goal was his first in Game 7. ... Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin left in the first period with an undisclosed injury.