With the plane taxiing towards the runway for a return flight to Las Vegas, choppy strains of Happy Birthday swelled to a full-throated salute to Golden Knights Director of Security Tom Monahan. The 60-something Monahan, an original VGK staffer and Vegas legend in his own right, took an awkward bow and shared a bashful grin with the 50 or so serenaders which make up the Golden Knights travelling party of players, coaches, management and staff.
This was not the scene of a team grimly getting its head around an upcoming Game 7. Nope, this was a tired, relieved and happy bunch. Safe in the knowledge Minnesota and its Wild were behind them for at least another season.
“That was hard,” said defenseman Noah Hanifin. “They hit. That was a physical series.”
Game 6 saw the Golden Knights hold leads of 1-0, 2-1 and 3-1 before settling on a 3-2 final and a series win. About an hour into the flight the Edmonton Oilers polished off the LA Kings and it will be Vegas and Edmonton once again in the second round.
Vegas got by the Oilers in six games two years ago during its march to the Stanley Cup.
Minnesota had taken a 2-1 series lead with wins in Games 2 and 3 before the Golden Knights reeled off three straight wins to end the series.
Vegas stumbled a bit in the series before its best players stepped to the fore. In Game 6, Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist as did captain Mark Stone. Goalie Adin Hill stopped 29-of-31 shots and the defense pair of Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb accounted for a goal and three assists.
The Wild had been led by Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy who had accounted for 10 goals over the first five games of the series. Wild coach John Hynes had last change in this game and he opted to play his power against Bruce Cassidy’s. Eichel and Stone scored while Kaprizov and Boldy fired blanks.
“And then if you look at the last three games, our top guys were a lot more productive and impactful than the first three games,” said Cassidy. “And that's, probably the biggest story right there. Goaltender (Adin Hill), [Shea] Theodore, [Jack] Eichel, [Mark] Stone, all of them. Go through them. They got better as the series went on, and it showed and culminated tonight.”
McNabb is often the unsung hero but this game had his fingerprints all over it. He drew a double-minor when Wild center Marco Rossi clubbed him in the face early which resulted in Theodore’s power play goal to open the scoring. McNabb then had assists on the next two Vegas goals including Stone’s game winner.
Cassidy went with McNabb and Theodore in the dying moments to preserve the lead and the Vegas penalty kill which features McNabb was also perfect on the night.
“For sure, we had some adversity. Even after that Game 3, I felt more confident in our group as weird as that is, even though things weren't really going our way,” said McNabb. “We're starting to find our game. We knew Game 4 was a big game for us. So, we came out strong and had a good game there. But, yeah, a little adversity. You're going to have it in playoffs no matter what. It can be good for you at times if you learn from it and move on to the next series.”
Golden Knights vs. Oilers redux: For the second time in franchise history, the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers will meet in the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The last time these teams matched up in the postseason, Vegas bested Edmonton in a six-game series in 2023 en route to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Championship. The Golden Knights and Oilers traded wins through the first four games to enter Game 5 tied 2-2 at T-Mobile Arena. Adin Hill stepped in net 12 minutes into Game 3 in relief of Laurent Brossoit due to injury to earn his first career playoff victory. Vegas’ three-goal period in Game 5 propelled the Golden Knights to a 4-3 victory to regain the series lead and put themselves one win away from advancing. In Game 6, the Golden Knights entered the second period trailing 2-1, only to score four unanswered goals to clinch the series and move on to the Western Conference Final. Jack Eichel led Vegas with nine points (3-6—9) through the six games, and Hill held a 3-1 record to go with a .934 SV% and 2.19 GAA.
