Golden Knights Rally Past Wild in Game 1 of Playoff Series

LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-2 in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round on April 20, 2025, at T-Mobile Arena. The win gives Vegas a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Tomas Hertl led the Golden Knights with a goal and an assist, helping the team secure the victory after initially falling behind. The Golden Knights, who hold the No. 1 seed in the Pacific Division, will look to extend their lead in Game 2 on Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET.

“I always try to play my game,” Hertl said after the match. “It’s kind of a playoff style. I’m happy I could help the team today with that, but it’s just always all team effort.”

Matt Boldy scored two goals for Minnesota, including one during a strong performance in the third period. The Wild, the first wild card from the West, received strong goaltending from Filip Gustavsson, who made 23 saves.

“[Boldy] was very good,” said Wild coach John Hynes. “Obviously, he had the two goals, but I thought he was a beast on the puck. He was moving his feet.”

Hertl opened the scoring for Vegas at 15:22 of the first period. He capitalized on a mistake by Wild defenseman Brock Faber, stealing the puck and scoring from the left circle. Boldy tied the game for Minnesota less than two minutes later with a shot that went five-hole.

In the second period, Pavel Dorofeyev scored a power-play goal for the Golden Knights to regain the lead 2-1. Brett Howden then extended the advantage to 3-1 early in the third period with a swift wrist shot.

Boldy netted his second goal of the game shortly after, bringing the score to 3-2. However, Howden sealed the victory with an empty-net goal in the final seconds of the game.

<p“It was a good hockey game,” Gustavsson remarked. “We came right back and were with them all the way there.”

Notably, Faber made his NHL debut for Minnesota in the playoffs, becoming the first Wild player to do so. Hertl’s goal marked his 26th career postseason goal, tying him for ninth among Czechia-born players in NHL history.