LAS VEGAS — If you dig into the video and the analytics, the Minnesota Wild’s Game 1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday basically was a 50-50 game. The Wild easily could have won. But in the end, they didn’t, with the result being the same as the previous five games against Vegas. It was also the Wild’s 10th loss in the last 12 games against this deep, well-balanced, well-coached and very structured Vegas team that is chasing its second Stanley Cup championship in the past three years.
It would have been easy for the Wild to overreact on Monday and make wholesale changes, from the lineup to the style of play.
Instead, the coaches asked players to stay the course and continue to play a connected, five-man game they hope will lead to more shot volume, more goals and Golden Knights players wearing down over the course of the series due to the level of physicality that resulted in 54 Wild hits in Game 1.
“We went over some video this morning, saw that we did a lot of good things, and the recipe for success is there, and we played to it,” defenseman Jake Middleton said. “They came out on top last night, but still, a lot of hockey left. There’s no frustration at all right now, really. We were happy with the way we played. We’re confident in our game, and we’ve just got to keep doing that every game.”
Now, coach John Hynes did indicate we could see some lineup or forward line changes in Tuesday night’s Game 2.
He was delighted by the Game 1 play of the top line of Matt Boldy (two goals), Joel Eriksson Ek (21 faceoff wins) and Kirill Kaprizov (two assists), although Kaprizov only had one shot on goal and two others attempted. And as good as the Wild played, the Wild only had 20 shots reach Adin Hill, with 25 others blocked from getting there. This is one area where the Wild must adjust, with Marcus Foligno saying the Wild must do a better job retrieving pucks and firing from different angles to make it tougher on Vegas’ defense to step out into shooting lanes.
But it will be interesting to see if Hynes inserts somebody such as Vinnie Hinostroza or Devin Shore into the Game 2 lineup, or how he will mix up his lines.
Ryan Hartman had a strong game and was integral in both of Boldy’s goals. He also impressed Hynes with his discipline. On a frustrating night when Hartman could have drawn a number of penalties, Hartman didn’t lose his composure the way we’ve seen in the past, and because of that he likely will be elevated in the lineup for Game 2.
“He was channeling his competitive nature the right way,” Hynes said. “Loved the discipline that he played with when he could have went off the rails. But I think that’s a good message I think to our team, too, that he’s willing to sacrifice those things for the good of the team. And his mindset was, he just played. Regardless of what happened to him (Sunday) night, he played and competed the right way.”
If Hartman moves up from fourth-line center, how will that affect the rest of the lineup? Will Hartman play right wing, or could he center the second or third line? And if that happens, where will Freddy Gaudreau and Marco Rossi land? Gaudreau lost two big draws leading to goals, and Rossi’s struggles over the last number of weeks continued in Game 1, with only 12 minutes of ice time and one shot on goal. Could we see Rossi moved up to the second line or even demoted to the fourth?
Then there’s Gustav Nyquist, who just hasn’t been the player the Wild expected since they reacquired him for a 2026 second-round pick from Nashville before the trade deadline. He logged just 10 minutes, 18 seconds, only had one shot on goal and on a couple shifts, seemed to almost avoid contact on dump-ins. Could he conceivably be a lineup casualty if Hinostroza enters, or could somebody like Justin Brazeau come out of the lineup?
This is one area where the Golden Knights had a clear edge. The Wild’s bottom six did little, while Vegas’ depth shone, especially its fourth line. Consider that Brett Howden (who scored twice Sunday), Nicolas Roy and Keegan Kolesar combined for 50 goals during the regular season.
“I think coming out of the game, I would say that was probably one that needs to be better,” Hynes said of his bottom-six. “I thought overall we played a strong team game. But I do think that in the forward group, we need more from either some lines or a little bit more from some people that we’ll address. But I think as we move along, going into Game 2, I think the 12 guys up front, I think we can be better in that area.”
But the Wild know how crucial it will be for them to score at five-on-five. The Golden Knights set an NHL record for fewest times short-handed during the regular season, and judging from at least Sunday’s officiating, that could continue in the playoffs.
Hynes, Foligno, Middleton and a number of players said after Game 1 they had no problem the way it was officiated. Two years ago, the Wild got roped into complaining about the officiating in the Dallas series and it affected their discipline and they began marching to the penalty box. Their penalty kill was horrific and it ultimately played a major role in losing in the first round.
Middleton said comically, “I’ve always been a fan of five-on-five hockey. I don’t get to play on the power play and the kill is always a little nerve-wracking. For hockey games to be decided by penalties always kind of sucks. You want to play the best-on-best, five-on-five hockey, and I thought the way the game was officiated last night was great.”
Added Foligno, “It was a good, clean game, I thought. I think that’s just the way we have to play, and it’s a team that we’re going up against that’s been smart all year, so you’re going against a team that controls their emotions and we gotta do the same thing. This is gonna be a key factor in this series. I think we’ve seen it in the past with our team where it’s hurt us, and we can’t get involved in the officiating and things that. We gotta play good, clean hockey and physical hockey.
“If you get involved in the officiating, you’re fighting two big things in a series.”
Hynes also indicated that rookie Zeev Buium will get a second straight game after he made his NHL debut in Game 1.
A #StanleyCup Playoffs rookie lap! 🤩
Enjoy the moment, Zeev Buium!
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— NHL (@NHL) April 21, 2025
There’s no doubt Buium had some rookie moments, and tried to do some things he could get away with playing NCAA hockey but not in the NHL. He got on the wrong side of the puck a handful of times, leading to odd-man rushes. On the Wild’s lone power play, he headed to the bench for a line change rather than retreating to get the puck, and by the time he got on his horse, it almost cost the Wild, as Mark Stone recognized the mistake. And of course there was the turnover on the six-on-five at the end of the game that led to Boldy taking a penalty and ultimately Howden’s power-play empty-net goal at the buzzer.
But when the Wild made the decision to play Buium, they knew the position they were putting him in and they are willing to accept mistakes because they feel what he has the potential to bring outweighs that.
That’s why Hynes and his staff decided to play him with the late six-on-five advantage, even though it meant Brock Faber or Jared Spurgeon would have to sit on the bench.
“I just think that that’s what he does,” Hynes said. “That’s what he’s best at. That’s why he was in the lineup is because he has that ability. He’s proven that. That’s one of his specialties. And I think when you’re in those situations, you got to put the guys that you feel have the natural instincts to do it, and that’s why we made the decision.”
Sure there were mistakes, but Hynes said every player made mistakes and Buium’s were magnified because of his blue-line position and because it was his debut. The coaches planned to spend individual time with Buium, going over his shifts and showing him the areas where perhaps he needs to make better decisions or play things differently.
One thing that’s clear is Buium has the backing of his teammates.
“I really like Zeev’s game,” Foligno said. “I mean, first game, jitters, nervous, playoff game. I think he handled it extremely well and just talking to him, I said to him, ‘It’s not that hard,’ so he gave a little smile and I think we’re gonna just see him get better and better throughout this series. I think he knows what to expect. He was thrown in there and you can just see the offensive moves, the speed he has, the shiftiness he has. I think that just gives us another element to our game that’s exciting. So if he just keeps getting confident and more comfortable out there, then that’s gonna benefit us.
“I was not ready when I came into professional hockey, that’s for sure. I took my time in the American League and thank God for it, so I do not know what he’s going through, what he’s thinking about, but he’s a way better player than I was at that age. It’s kind of crazy. He’s 19. … I think he’s gonna be just fine and you’re gonna see, the next couple games, him kind of really blossom here.”
Added Middleton, “He’s going to be fine. He’s going to be great. Every shift he goes out there, he looked better and better throughout the game. Roll that over into the next game. These kids now, they’ve got so much confidence in themselves and so much swagger, that he was ready as soon as the puck dropped.
“When I was 19, when I was his age, I wasn’t even running a power play in junior, so I can’t really relate to it, what he’s feeling right now, but he’s going to be an exceptional player. You can see it already. I think he’s got the skill set where, when his confidence builds and he kind of learns his timing, that those same plays might work for him the same as they did in college hockey.”
(Photo: Candice Ward / Getty Images)
