More of same in postseason: Wild drop Game 1 in Vegas

LAS VEGAS Everything is new in the playoffs but for the Minnesota Wild at least one bothersome trend from the regular season made an appearance in competition No As they did three times between December and March the Wild played a tough challenge with the Vegas Golden Knights pushing back when provoked and sometimes having an answer for the home club s offense And in their NHL playoff opener it wasn t enough just like in the regular season The Knights scored in every period on Sunday and never trailed thwarting a two-goal evening by Minnesota forward Matt Boldy in a - win to take a - lead in the best-of-seven series Championship is a p m CT start on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena The Wild got saves from Filip Gustavsson but lost their opening road challenge of the playoffs for the first time this decade Boldy who led the Wild in goals assists and points in the regular season carried his offense over into the postseason but a two-goal lead by Vegas in the third period was too much to overcome What we expected I think both teams came to play hard and pretty good strong defensive efforts Not a lot of special teams in the meeting Wild coach John Hynes commented I thought we did a lot of good things to build on and move forward here Vegas Golden Knights left wing Pavel Dorofeyev celebrates with defenseman Shea Theodore and center Tomas Hertl after Dorofeyev s goal during the second period in Battle of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild Sunday April in Las Vegas AP Photo Ian Maule Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill had saves in the win Brett Howden scored a pair of goals for the Knights who won the Pacific Division in the regular season The physical tone that fans have come to expect from playoff hockey was evident from the opening faceoff underscored roughly minutes into the opening period when Wild center Ryan Hartman was leveled near the defensive blue line by an open-ice blindside hit by Knights winger Ivan Barbashev Hartman was slow getting off the ice but returned for a shift a limited minutes later Vegas got the first goal on a hard-working individual play by Tomas Hertl The Knights center used his stick to thwart a clearing attempt by Wild defenseman Brock Faber at the side of the net then grabbed the loose puck and fired it into a tiny gap over Gustavsson s right shoulder to give the home company the early lead But Minnesota had a quick answer when Kirill Kaprizov fed Boldy with a cross-ice pass which Boldy converted with a low shot that beat Hill on the glove side to make it - Near the midway point of the meeting Knights winger Brandon Saad got behind the Wild defense and had a breakaway from the blue line but his the crossbar Minnesota did not escape the period unscathed however as a high sticking penalty on Joel Eriksson Ek gave Vegas the contest s first power play and they needed just seconds of man advantage to take the lead back Minnesota s top line made a strong push late in the middle frame but the Wild headed to the second intermission down a goal Vegas opened things up early in the third when a promising offensive zone possession by the Wild went sour fleetly and the Knights opened up a - lead Streaking down the wing Howden exploited that same tiny gap above Gustavsson s shoulder Special teams were a theme for Vegas in the regular season during which they set a franchise record by scoring more than percent of the time on their power play They also set a NHL record for fewest penalties in a season being whistled just times in games That last stat may become a theme as this series rolls on as Hartman took not only the hit which could have been called interference but also a cross check to the face in the third period that also went unpunished Hartman disclosed afterward that if the series is about five-on-five hockey with insufficient penalties called that suits Minnesota well That s fine with us It s playoff hockey We re pretty happy with our group five-on-five so that s fine with us he declared We both had a power play It s pretty even Hartman declined to opine on the two hits that went unpenalized Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild celebrates his goal with Zeev Buium and Kirill Kaprizov in the first period against the Vegas Golden Knights in Championship One of the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on April in Las Vegas Nevada Photo by Candice Ward Getty Images Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb was called for boarding Hartman later in the third period but Minnesota failed to convert on its only power play chance Down by two the Wild refused to go quietly and pulled back within a goal when Boldy corralled a deflected shot by Kaprizov and deposited a backhanded wraparound shot to make it - with just more than minutes remaining Hynes pulled Gustavsson with less than seconds left but Boldy was whistled for tripping with William Karlsson headed for the empty net They re a good crew They don t give up much Same with us so you expect that going in Boldy declared of the tight-checking nature of Vegas in the playoffs I thought we played a good match had our chances That s the way it goes Howden was credited with an empty net goal in the final second for the two-goal margin Good for Howie He s had a good year and has been there for us all season Knights coach Bruce Cassidy noted in the postgame press conference Boldy disclosed there was particular optimism to be had from the push made by the Wild in the third and the fact that they didn t fold despite being down by two goals You ve got to win four games It doesn t matter when or how he mentioned Just stay positive keep going Take the good and work on the bad I guess After taking his rookie lap at the start of warmups with several family members watching from the front row defenseman Zeev Buium became the first competitor in Wild franchise history to make his NHL debut in the playoffs Paired with veteran Zach Bogosian he logged more than minutes and evidenced flashes of the puck-moving skill that made him the top offensive defenseman in college hockey last season with Denver After my first shift the nerves totally went away announced Buium who had one shot on goal in the challenge Less nerves than I thought there was going to be After my first shift it was just like You re playing hockey now Buium who turned in December became the th-youngest performer in league history to make his NHL debut in the playoffs There was an unplanned timeout early in the second period when linesman Bryan Panich had to be helped from the ice after an inadvertent collision with a Golden Knights contestant near the blue line He was replaced by standby official Frederick L Ecuyer Related Articles Wild rely on Joel Eriksson Ek s intensity I wouldn t call him nice Better strength means tough decisions about Wild playoff roster Zeev Buium will make NHL debut in Wild playoff opener Talented confident Knights looking for hunger versus Wild With soundness comes confidence as Wild head to Vegas