LAS VEGAS — Matt Boldy scored twice for Minnesota, but so did Vegas’ Brett Howden and the Golden Knights opened their first-round Western Conference playoffs series with a 4-2 victory Sunday night over the Minnesota Wild.
Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights, Pavel Dorofeyev also scored, and Adin Hill made 18 saves.
Matt Boldy scored both Wild goals, the second bring Minnesota within 3-2 late in the the third period. The Wild pulled goaltender Filip Gustavsson for an extra attacker, and Howden scored an empty-netter with 1 second left.
Kirill Kaprizov assisted on both of Boldy’s goals, and Gustavsson stopped 23 shots.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
Both teams traded goals in the first period. Hertl took the puck from Minnesota’s Brock Faber and hit the net from just inside the front side of the left circle. The Wild answered 2:20 later when Kaprizov delivered a cross-ice pass to Boldy, who scored off the rush.
Dorofeyev scored the only goal in the second period when Hertl won the faceoff to open a power play. The puck went to Shea Theodore, who skated to the center and set up Dorofeyev for a blast from the right circle. Dorofeyev has scored goals in three consecutive games going back to the end of the regular season.
Howden extended the Vegas lead to 3-1 early in the third period, but Boldy’s wrap-around goal with 8:14 left brought Minnesota to within one.
Wild 19-year-old defenseman Zeev Buium made his NHL debut by playing on the third pair with Zach Bogosian. He played 13:37 with a shot on goal. Buium was playing for Denver just 10 days earlier in the NCAA’s Frozen Four.
Linesman Bryan Pancich left the game 3:37 into the second period after a collision with Howden. Backup official Frederick L’Ecuyer took Pancich’s place.
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