National Hockey League
Vegas 5, Minnesota 2
When: 9:30 PM ET, Thursday, May 20, 2021
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Wes McCauley, Francois St. Laurent
Linesmen: Ryan Gibbons, Libor Suchanek
Attendance: 4500

Mark Stone scored twice, including an empty-netter with 59 seconds remaining, as the Vegas Golden Knights rallied to defeat the Minnesota Wild 5-2 on Thursday night in Game 3 of their first-round West Division playoff series in Saint Paul, Minn.

Patrick Brown, Reilly Smith and William Karlsson also scored for Vegas, which took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 14 saves.

Ryan Hartman and Joel Eriksson Ek scored for Minnesota, and Cam Talbot stopped 35 of 39 shots. The Wild dropped to 6-1-2 all-time at home against the Golden Knights.

Smith scored what proved to be the winner at 17:33 of the second, breaking a 2-2 tie. Defenseman Nick Holden's shot from the top of the left faceoff circle glanced off the helmet of Minnesota's Jonas Brodin, and the puck fell to Smith at the top of the crease. His backhander was stopped by Talbot, but the rebound came to Smith's forehand, and the right winger didn't miss.

Karlsson scored on a two-on-one break at 17:36 of the third to make it 4-2.

Trailing 2-0, the Golden Knights seized control midway through the second period, a frame in which they outshot Minnesota 22-5.

Stone got them on the scoreboard at 8:39 of the second, burying a shot from the slot after taking a pass from Chandler Stephenson.

The Golden Knights tied the score at 15:19. Holden, his path to the net blocked, purposely put his shot from the left point wide of the goal. The puck caromed off the end boards and right in front of the net, where Brown collected it and scored on a backhander.

The Wild took a 2-0 lead in the first period and would have made it a three-goal game if not for a video review that determined they were offside and nullified a tally by Eriksson Ek that would have made it 3-0.

Hartman opened the scoring just 2:16 in, taking a cross-ice pass from Kirill Kaprizov near the far post and putting a one-timer past Fleury.

Eriksson Ek made it 2-0 at 8:30, finding a loose puck after a shot from the right point was knocked down and putting a forehand shot inside the left post.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Vegas   Minnesota
Mark Stone 2 Points Joel Eriksson Ek 1
Mark Stone 2 Goals Joel Eriksson Ek 1
Nick Holden 2 Assists Jonas Brodin 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Marc-Andre Fleury .875 Save Percentage Cam Talbot .897
Marc-Andre Fleury 14 Saves Cam Talbot 35
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Vegas 40 5 0-5 2-2 4 30
Minnesota 16 2 0-2 5-5 10 27
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Vegas. The Wild have a W/L % of .629 after a win and .600 after a loss.
  • Vegas will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Golden Knights have a W/L % of .692 after a win and .750 after a loss.