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Lock into the highly anticipated Game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Minnesota Wild and Las Vegas Golden Knights, hitting the ice tonight at 9:30 PM ET sharp. The series continues at T-Mobile Arena, tied at 2-2, and whoever wins tonight will be one step away from moving on to the next round of the playoffs!
Feel free to check out my picks for tonight’s game before deciding whether it’s something you want to fade or follow!
While the Minnesota Wild took to the playoffs as a wild card, they performed to a necessary standard to find their series tied 2-2 against the Pacific Division’s 1st seed, Las Vegas Golden Knights. Game 1 saw the Golden Knights finish with a comfortable 4-2 lead at home. Minnesota’s next game was a complete bounce back, winning 5-2 to tie the series and steal a win away from home. In Minnesota’s first home game of the series, they mirrored another crucial 5-2 in an attempt to break the spirits of the Golden Knights by taking a 2-1 lead. Game 4 was tight, heading into overtime before ending with a 4-3 victory to Las Vegas to tie the series in their most recent game.
The Wild’s Matt Boldy came out of their Game 1 defeat with only 2 goals for the team, with teammate Kirill Kaprizov assisting both. Game 2 was much better across the board, as Boldy added to his tally with another goal and assist, and Kirill Kaprizov ramped up his efforts with 2 goals and 1 assist, with teammates Marcus Foligno and Mats Zuccarello earning a goal each themselves. Both Boldy and Kaprizov continued their dominance in Game 3, with 1 goal, 1 assist and 2 goals, with Marco Rossi adding to the point scoring with a goal and an assist himself. In Game 4, only Marcus Foligno, Marco Rossi and Jared Spurgeon would hit the back of the net, but as the series progresses, both LWs Kirill Kaprizov (4 goals and 4 assists) and Matt Boldy (4 goals and 2 assists) lead the way in goalscoring, with Ryan Hartman (4 assists) trailing not too far behind.
We fully expect Kirill Kaprizov to continue his postseason run with another 1+ goals and 1+ assists tonight, as long as Matt Boldy and company can help with his efforts.
The Golden Knights came into the first round of the playoffs as a confident top seed from the Pacific Division, although they slipped to a 2-2 tied series after four games against Minnesota so far. They started strong as they hoped with a 4-2 win in Game 1, although they allowed the Wild to grab one back in Game 2 on April 22. Las Vegas would fail to win their first away game, falling 5-2 once again to Minnesota on April 24, but they wouldn’t let them run away with Game 4, as the Golden Knights would capture a vital 4-3 OT win in their last game on April 25.
The Golden Knight’s Brett Howden would have a dream start in Game 1 with 2 goals, while teammates Tomas Hertl (1 goal and 1 assist) and Pavel Dorofeyev (1 goal) would add to the tally with 1 goal each. Game 2 was hardly impressive in scoring, with only Hertl and Noah Hanifin netting a goal a piece. As the Golden Knights slipped in the series in Game 3, only Alex Pietrangelo and Reilly Smith would find the back of the net with 1 goal before stealing back a win in Game 4 with four different goal scorers Ivan Barbashev (1 goal and 1 assist), Tomas Hertl (1 goal and 1 assist), Nicolas Roy (1 goal and 1 assist), and Shea Theodore (1 goal) contributing to the 4-3 win in their most recent game.
This series has gone completely back and forth, although despite Minnesota barely reaching the playoffs this season, they continue to dominate in goal scoring with 15 goals so far this series compared to Las Vegas’ 12 total. The Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson has done a slightly better job at blocking the net, only allowing 2.58 goals on average per game, versus Golden Knight’s Adin Hill, allowing an average of 3.30 per game.
From my perspective, if the dynamic postseason duo of Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy on the Wilds can continue their impressive offensive stats, the Wilds can take a crucial Game 5 win, with Kaprizov expected to score 1+ and assist 1+ in his incredible playoff run.
Liam has been a major sports fan and soccer player for over a decade, with a particular focus on major top-level soccer leagues, including the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and MLS. He has written numerous promotional articles for various top sportsbooks and continues to publish historical and factual sports articles covering the NFL, MLS, NHL, MLB, EPL and more.