ST. PAUL, Minn. — Jack Eichel had a standout performance with a hat trick as the Vegas Golden Knights triumphed over the Minnesota Wild with a 5-1 victory on Tuesday night. This marked Eichel’s fifth hat trick in his career.
Contributing to the scoreboard were Brett Howden and Tanner Pearson, while Noah Hanifin and Mark Stone each added two assists for the Golden Knights. Adin Hill was solid in goal, recording 23 saves for the team, which currently leads the Pacific Division and has now claimed victory in four consecutive games.
For the Wild, Marcus Johansson found the back of the net, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves, though Minnesota faced another defeat for the second consecutive night.
The Golden Knights secured their win by scoring thrice in the final 5:03 of the game. Following a high-sticking penalty against Minnesota’s Ryan Hartman, Eichel seized the opportunity to score his second goal of the night, pushing Vegas to a 3-1 advantage. Pearson extended the lead with an empty-net goal before Eichel sealed the game with a wrist shot past Fleury, marking his first hat trick since March 2023.
Takeaways:
For the Golden Knights, Shea Theodore made his return from a long-term injury list after being sidelined due to an arm injury sustained in February. His comeback was timely, especially with defenseman Alex Pietrangelo sitting out due to a pregame injury.
The Wild continues to face offensive challenges particularly with forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek both out due to injuries. After a shutout loss in Dallas the night before, the Wild managed only four shots on goal during the first period and were unable to capitalize on their single power play opportunity.
Key moment:
A potential game-changing moment occurred midway through the third period when Marco Rossi appeared to even the score at 2-2 with a goal. However, the goal was nullified as officials cited that Rossi had contacted the puck with a high stick.
Key stat:
In the 16 games played since the NHL resumed after a lengthy February hiatus, Minnesota has managed to score only 33 goals.
Up next:
The Wild are set to host the Washington team on Thursday, while the Golden Knights will face off against Chicago on Friday.