NHL playoffs: Vegas handles Wild in Game 1
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 - success 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 saves Matt Boldy scored both Wild goals the second bring Minnesota within - late in the the third period The Wild pulled goaltender Filip Gustavsson for an extra attacker and Howden scored an empty-netter with second left Kirill Kaprizov assisted on both of Boldy s goals and Gustavsson stopped shots Competition 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 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 - early in the third period but Boldy s wrap-around goal with left brought Minnesota to within one Wild -year-old defenseman Zeev Buium made his NHL debut by playing on the third pair with Zach Bogosian He played with a shot on goal Buium was playing for Denver just days earlier in the NCAA s Frozen Four Linesman Bryan Pancich left the event into the second period after a collision with Howden Backup official Frederick L Ecuyer took Pancich s place
