Golden Knights advance to second round after eliminating Wild

The Vegas Golden Knights are off to the second round of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs after beating the Minnesota Wild in Game 6 on Thursday night.

This is the team’s first series victory since winning the Stanley Cup in 2023. It’s also the fifth opening-round series victory since the team was formed ahead of the 2017-18 season.

Shea Theodore opened the scoring at 3:30, giving the Golden Knights the early advantage. But a late first-period goal from Ryan Hartman made it a 1-1 game, which helped give the Wild some hope. Goals from Jack Eichel and Mark Stone in the 16th minute of the next two periods made it a 3-1 game for Vegas, something the Wild couldn’t recover from. Ryan Hartman scored shortly after Stone to make it 3-2, but it wasn’t enough in the end.

Most notably, Minnesota’s loss marks the end of Marc-Andre Fleury’s NHL career. The 40-year-old was drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2003, helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 2009, 2016 and 2017. Fleury won the Vezina Trophy during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, and also won a gold medal with Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The Golden Knights will play the winner of the Edmonton Oilers/Los Angeles Kings series. Game 6 is happening tonight in Edmonton, with the Kings taking a 2-1 lead early in the first period. The Oilers have a 3-2 series lead after initially starting out 0-2.