The Minnesota Wild have entered win-or-go-home territory after a gut-wrenching overtime loss to Vegas in Game 5 Tuesday night.
Fighting their own mistakes and misfortune for most of the night, the Wild rallied from a 2-1 deficit to force overtime but lost 3-2 when Brett Howden’s snap shot 4:05 into overtime found the back of the net.
Vegas now leads the best-of-seven series three games to two, with Minnesota facing a must-win in Game 6 Thursday night in St. Paul.
The Wild simply had too much to overcome in Game 5.
- They gave up a short-handed goal
- Whistled for nearly consecutive penalties in the second period
- Losing starting goalie Filip Gustavsson to illness
- Go-ahead goal with 1:15 left erased after a double review
After Matt Boldy tied the game with a driving goal 3:31 into the third period, the Wild scored the go-ahead goal when Ryan Hartman drove the net and beat Adin Hill for a 3-2 lead with 1:15 left in regulation.
The officials reviewed the goal to see if Hartman kicked the puck into the net, but they found no evidence and the goal stood. But Vegas challenged for offsides and the officials saw Gustav Nyquist narrowly offsides and Hartman’s goal was wiped off the board.
The first hurdle of Minnesota’s long night came when they went on a power play in the first period and Kirill Kaprizov almost instantly turned over the puck, setting the stage for William Karlsson to score a short-handed goal and a 1-0 Vegas lead.
Kaprizov made up for the error 13 seconds later with a goal to equalize the score, but a Mark Stone goal gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 after one and the Wild weren’t done making it hard on themselves.
Midway through the second period, only 25 seconds separated the Wild killing off a delay game penalty on Hartman and a holding call that sent Marcus Foligno to the box for two minutes. The Wild stymied both Vegas power plays, but it was a taxing stretch and part of the reason the Wild went more than 11 straight minutes without a shot on goal.
The hero during that stretch was Gustavsson, who made 23 saves against 25 shots on goal before an illness forced him out of action after two periods.
In came Marc-Andre Fleury, playing in his 18th postseason and 92nd career playoff game, and he shut the door on the Knights in the third period despite entering the game cold and having not played in a game since April 9.
Fleury stopped the first six shots he faced, and there was almost nothing he could’ve done to stop Howden’s in-close snap shot in overtime.
Game 6 will start around 6:40 p.m. CT Thursday and will be televised nationally on ESPN and locally on FanDuel Sports Network North.
Apr 29, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) makes a save against Minnesota Wild right wing Ryan Hartman (38) during the third period of game five of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena.
Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
