Brett Howden of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime of Game Five of the First Round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Minnesota Wild (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)

Golden Knights Take Down Wild 3-2 in Overtime

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Cooper Krigbaum | Last updated Apr 30, 2025 1:31 AM ET

Brett Howden played the hero in Game 5, burying the overtime winner to give the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-2 series lead over the Minnesota Wild. T-Mobile Arena was electric all night, and when Howden found twine, Vegas erupted.

This game had just about everything — including a mid-game goalie swap that brought former Golden Knight Marc-André Fleury into the crease for the Wild. With Vegas now up 3-2, they hold a 78.8% historical chance to win the series and will look to finish the job Thursday night in St. Paul. Here’s the recap.

Game Recap

From the start, the Golden Knights came out hot and looked sharp. The Wild went on the power play early on, but Jack Eichel found William Karlsson shorthanded, and he put it home, giving Vegas the 1-0 lead.

Thirteen seconds later, Mats Zuccarello had a nice pass to who else but Kirill Kaprizov to even the score at one apiece and level the game in the first period. Eichel was back at it shortly after, assisting Mark Stone’s first goal of the playoffs to make it 2-1.

Another interesting tidbit, the Golden Knights entered the postseason with one of the best power plays in the league, but tonight, they went 0/3 and failed to capitalize on their chances with the man advantage.

Matt Boldy would later tie the game up in the third period, sneaking past Alex Pietrangelo on the right side, roofing one past Adin Hill, and scoring to make it 2-2.

As mentioned, Fleury would enter the game for Filip Gustavsson, who was said to be sick and had been taken out of the game. Ryan Hartman would presumably score for the Wild and give them the 3-2 lead.

The officials then checked for a kicking motion but found no evidence. Bruce Cassidy challenged for offside, which it was, and the goal was overturned.

The game then entered overtime, and Howden won it for the Golden Knights, giving them the 3-2 series lead. Game 6 will take place on Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.