Wild Dominate in 5-2 Win Over Golden Knights

The Minnesota Wild continued their road trip on Monday, Dec. 29, when they faced the Vegas Golden Knights. The Wild had their full roster while the Golden Knights were without Jack Eichel, Shea Theodore, William Karlsson, Adin Hill, and Alex Pietrangelo. The Wild were coming off a big overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets, while the Golden Knights were coming off a shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche; both games were on Saturday, Dec. 27.

Filip Gustavsson was in the net for the Wild while Carter Hart started the game for the Golden Knights, but was chased in the second period, and Akira Schmid took his spot. The Wild started with a goal under 30 seconds into the game and continued to add to it as the game went on, and eventually took the win 5-2.

Game Recap

Marcus Johansson scored for the Wild just 26 seconds into the first period to give them a very early lead. Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon assisted him. It was back and forth until the final five minutes of the period, when the Wild added to their lead with a goal from Matt Boldy. Joel Eriksson Ek and Johansson assisted him. Those were the only goals of the first period, and the Wild took the lead into the second. 

26 seconds into the middle period, Spurgeon scored to extend the Wild’s lead to 3-0. Johansson and Brodin assisted him. Less than five minutes later, Brock Faber scored to make it 4-0. Yakov Trenin and Kirill Kaprizov assisted him. A couple of minutes following that goal, Eriksson Ek scored to extend the lead to 5-0. Boldy and Johansson assisted him. 

The Golden Knights got on the scoreboard late in the second period with a goal by Brayden McNabb that took away Gustavsson’s shutout. Ivan Barbashev and Pavel Dorofeyev assisted him. That was the final goal of the middle frame, and the Wild took the 5-1 lead into the third period.

The Golden Knights scored the first goal of the third period from Mark Stone. Barbashev and Mitch Marner assisted him, which made it 5-2. That was the only goal of the final period, and the Wild took the win 5-2.

The Wild will remain on the road to continue their road trip as they head to California to face the San Jose Sharks on New Year’s Eve, Wednesday, Dec. 31, to ring in 2026. The Golden Knights will remain at home to host the Nashville Predators, also on New Year’s Eve.