Golden Knights win Game 6, eliminate Wild in Western 1st Round

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Jack Eichel scored his first goal this postseason and had an assist for the Vegas Golden Knights, who eliminated the Minnesota Wild with a 3-2 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

Mark Stone and Shea Theodore each also had a goal and an assist for Vegas, which is the No. 1 seed from the Pacific Division. Adin Hill made 29 saves.

The Golden Knights, who won the final three games of the series, will play the Edmonton Oilers in the second round.

“Today we got the lead which is good, and we haven’t had the lead a lot,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s important to do that. Sometimes it can change the way a team like Minnesota will play. ... They were tough to play against with the lead because they protect the middle and don’t give up a lot."

Ryan Hartman scored twice for Minnesota, which was the first wild card from the West. Filip Gustavsson made 21 saves.

“It's a little raw right now,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “I thought we worked enough and were playing well enough to be able to continue to push the series. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way, but I commend the guys. This was a really fun group to coach, extremely competitive group, coachable. It’s obviously disappointing right now because you feel like you deserve a little bit better, at least in the last few games here, and unfortunately it didn't go that way."

Eichel put Vegas ahead 2-1 at 16:12 of the second period. Stone sent a lead pass past the diving stick of Kirill Kaprizov in the neutral zone, and Eichel beat Gustavsson glove side on a breakaway.

“It’s great. He lets me skate right into it,” Eichel said. “It was a great play him, great play by [Brayden McNabb] in our own zone. Able to attack off a turnover, and 'Stoney' makes a great play. It was a great goal.”

Stone then made it 3-1 at 16:02 of the third period when he batted McNabb's centering pass out of the air in front.

Hartman responded 31 seconds later to cut it to 3-2, jamming a rebound in at the left post.

“Extending the lead late from 2-1, you hate to see that last goal go in to make it tight, but that is hockey. They kept pushing," Cassidy said. "If you look at the last three games, our top guys were a lot more productive and impactful than in the first three games. That’s probably the biggest story right there. Goaltender, Theodore, Eichel, Stone, all of them. We got better as the series went on, and it showed and culminated tonight.”

Theodore gave Vegas an early 1-0 lead at 3:30 of the first period. He scored blocker side with a shot through traffic from above the circles on the power play.

Hill kept it a one-goal game when he denied Marcus Foligno on the doorstep at 9:40.

“I knew Foligno was there, and I thought (Noah) Hanifin blocked the pass, but it still got there somehow, so just kind of a desperation reach with my leg,” Hill said.

Hartman tied it 1-1 with four seconds left in the first period, scoring on a one-timer through traffic from above the right circle.

“We battled,” Hartman said. “Two overtime losses [in Games 4 and 5] and a close one tonight. Felt like it could have easily gone seven, but we felt like we had what it took to go forward.

“The confidence we had in our group for a deep run -- I think years past we had some pretty good teams, but this one, those things we went through, the way we stuck with things, this one feels like we could have gone deep.”

NOTES: The Golden Knights have won 12 series since their inaugural season in 2017-18, the second-most in the NHL in that span, behind only the Tampa Bay Lightning (13). ... Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury dressed for the final NHL game of his decorated 21-season career.