Takeaways: Big names deliver as Golden Knights advance, Avalanche stay alive

On a night that featured four elimination games across the NHL, Vegas managed to oust Minnesota, while Dallas couldn’t dispatch Colorado, as hard as the Stars tried. 
Golden Knights stars came up big, with Jack Eichel netting his first of the post-season and Mark Stone swinging and picking the winner out of the air to fuel a 3-2 win that sunk Minnesota in six games.  

Over in Colorado, former Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz each put up a whopping four points in a four-goal second period for the Stars, but Valeri Nichushkin lit the lamp twice for Colorado, and then Nathan Mackinnon (who else?) scored the winner in a 7-4 shootout that included a pair of empty-netters. 

MacKinnon’s deciding goal came off a very lucky bounce. But you’ve gotta be good to be lucky, right? 

Here are some key takeaways from a pair of Western Conference matchups, one that sent Minnesota packing and another that forces Dallas to play Game 7. 

On Vegas’ first goal of the game on the power play, a little more than three minutes in — a Shea Theodore wrister from the point — it was Mark Stone who provided the screen in front, and Jack Eichel who earned the secondary assist. 

Goal No. 2, which gave Vegas its second lead, came when Stone floated a perfectly weighted saucer pass up ice, and Eichel skated onto it and calmly made a backhand-forehand move and shot the puck under Filip Gustavsson’s glove to make it 2-1, Vegas. 

The winner came shortly after Eichel had a couple of chances in close, and Stone batted a Brayden McNabb lob pass out of the air. 

Both Stone and Eichel had two points apiece, and for Eichel, it was his first goal of the series. After finishing eighth league-wide in the regular season, Eichel closed out the first round with six points in as many games. 

At Ball Arena in Colorado, meanwhile, Rantanen assisted all three of Dallas’ second-period goals, his prettiest coming after he won a battle along the boards and dished the puck to Hintz, who then scored his second of the period. 

Rantanen’s goal came later in the second to give Dallas the 4-3 lead after Hintz hit him in the middle, and Rantanen took a clear lane to the net before firing the puck five-hole. 

It took Rantanen time to get going in his first playoff series against his former team — he played a decade in Colorado, and was traded back in January — but it’s safe to say he’s officially cooking. Rantanen has seven points in his last two games. 

On the winning side of the matchup, the Avs stars really filled the scoresheet. MacKinnon and Cale Makar each had three points, and captain Gabriel Landeskog had a pair of key assists, including a hard shot that led to a rebound to tee up Nichushkin’s second goal. 

Colorado scored its first goal off a skate, then went up 2-0 after Makar fanned on a shot and the puck landed right on Artturi Lehkonen’s stick on the doorstep. 

And then, not long after Nichushkin tied things up with his second of the game, came the luckiest bounce of all for No. 29. 

MacKinnon powered down the left wall in Dallas’ zone, then shoved the puck toward the front of the net, and it played Plinko off a few Dallas players until it hit a shoulder and bounced into the net.

It was MacKinnon’s sixth goal of the playoffs, and stood up as the winner. MacKinnon had a huge smile on his face as he hugged his teammates after that one.  

And the fact is, Colorado was lucky, but they out-chanced and out-played the Stars in Game 6. They deserved this win, which included empty-netters from Josh Manson and Makar, for his first goal of the post-season. 

Desperation and hanging on

There was a heavy dose of both at Minnesota’s Xcel Energy Center. And all credit to the Wild, who grinded to the very last second. This one looked over after Stone scored to make it 3-1 with about four minutes to go, but just 29 seconds later, Ryan Hartman potted his second of the game to give Minnesota life again. 

And those final minutes were full of grind from both sides. Shots were fired, sticks were flying in the air and breaking, bodies were blocking pucks. Vegas goalie Adin Hill took off his helmet and let out a big exhale after the puck was iced with a little more than a minute to go. 

When the buzzer went, the Golden Knights jumped and hugged and cheered, and Stone gave each of his teammates a hearty high-five. They’ll play the Edmonton Oilers in Round 2. 

The historic Roope–Rantanen show

That was the story of the second period at Ball Arena. After Colorado got out to a 2-0 lead in the first, Dallas tied things up early in the second with goals just 2:23 apart — Hintz potted one from right in close on the power play, and then he hit Mikael Granlund with a beautiful pass and Granlund made it 2-2 with a wrist shot against the grain. Rantanen drew assists on both goals.

Just 53 seconds later, the Avs regained the lead after some sustained pressure in Dallas’s zone, when Makar hit Martin Necas with a backdoor pass. 

That lead was short-lived after Rantanen fed Hintz, and the second period ended 4-3 after the pair combined for another goal, with Hintz feeding Rantanen. 

That’s NHL history, too: It’s the first time two players have ever recorded four points apiece in a single playoff period. Still, they didn’t get a win to show for it.

Bichsel helped off the ice, but returns

A scary moment in the second period in Colorado: Dallas defender Lian Bichsel lost his edge as he was carrying the puck out of the Stars zone, and appeared to hit his head on the boards. He was helped up and off the ice. 

The 20-year-old was drafted 18^th overall in 2022, and this is his playoff debut after 38 games in the regular season that saw him put up nine points.

Bichsel returned to the game in the third period. 

Thursday night didn’t just mean goodbye to the Wild, it also marked the last game of Marc-Andre Fleury’s incredible 21-year NHL career. 

The goaltender’s last game action occurred a couple of nights ago in Game 5 when Gustavsson left after the second period due to illness. Fleury came in in relief and made seven saves in an overtime loss. His last start came on April 9, and Fleury made 31 saves for an 8-7 overtime win against the San Jose Sharks.

The 40-year-old from Quebec was drafted first overall 23 years ago. He won three Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, an Olympic gold medal for Canada in 2010, and became the third goalie in NHL history to reach 500 wins. He ranks second all-time in wins among netminders.

Fleury was the league’s oldest active player this season, and he spent his final game in the NHL wearing a backwards Wild hat, chewing gum and cheering on his team. 

He is a national treasure. 

One of the signs in the crowd read: “Flower forever my favourite.” Many fans and teammates would say the same of No. 29, who let out an exhale as he skated onto the ice after the game to join his teammates in the handshake line. 

As Fleury was shaking hands after his final game, fans in the stands began chanting his name.