Latest news with #VegasGoldenKnights'
USA Today
02-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN cuts away before Marc-Andre Fleury's final handshake line: What you missed
ESPN cuts away before Marc-Andre Fleury's final handshake line: What you missed The Vegas Golden Knights' clinching 3-2 victory in Game 6 put them in the second round of the NHL playoffs and ended the Minnesota Wild's season. It also was the end of the career of future Hall of Fame goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who backed up on Thursday after getting into part of Game 5 because of Filip Gustavsson's illness. Fleury, the 2003 No. 1 overall pick, previously announced that this was his final season. He finishes with three Stanley Cup titles with the Pittsburgh Penguins, a Vezina Trophy and another trip to the Final with the Golden Knights and 575 regular-season wins, second best in NHL history. ESPN had a second game to broadcast Thursday night and cut away from the handshake line before Fleury went through in order to show the intro of the Los Angeles Kings-Edmonton Oilers game. ESPN later showed video of Fleury in the handshake line during the intermission of the Kings-Oilers game. But here's what you missed from Fleury's last time on the ice, courtesy of agent Allan Walsh and others: The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Golden Knights and Wild healthy at the right time as they meet in NHL playoffs
Golden Knights and Wild healthy at the right time as they meet in NHL playoffs Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury makes a save against the Anaheim Ducks during overtime of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn) Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) shoots the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) Vegas Golden Knights' Tomas Hertl (48) celebrates his team's goal as Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf (32) reacts during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP) Vegas Golden Knights' Mark Stone, right, is tripped by Calgary Flames' Nazem Kadri during first period NHL hockey action in Calgary on Saturday, April 5, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP) Vegas Golden Knights' Mark Stone, right, is tripped by Calgary Flames' Nazem Kadri during first period NHL hockey action in Calgary on Saturday, April 5, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP) Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury makes a save against the Anaheim Ducks during overtime of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn) Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) shoots the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) Vegas Golden Knights' Tomas Hertl (48) celebrates his team's goal as Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf (32) reacts during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP) Vegas Golden Knights' Mark Stone, right, is tripped by Calgary Flames' Nazem Kadri during first period NHL hockey action in Calgary on Saturday, April 5, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP) LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mark Stone was coming back from a lacerated spleen, Tomas Hertl was still trying to find his form after knee surgery and Alex Pietrangelo underwent an appendectomy as the playoffs neared. The Golden Knights, according to NHL Injury Viz, led the league in man games lost to injury with 476. Last year, their season ended in a seven-game, first-round loss to Dallas. Advertisement The situation is considerably different this year as the Golden Knights prepare to open their first round series Sunday night against Minnesota. Vegas had 210 man games lost this season. 'Not only are we healthier, I think we're more just dialed in,' Stone said. 'A few guys entered the lineup in the playoffs who hadn't played for a month or two months. We were trying to find chemistry. This year, I don't think we're really trying to find chemistry.' The Golden Knights won their fourth Pacific Division title in eight years and captured the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. That set up Vegas against the Wild, who won the top wild card after going through their share of injuries this season. Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin each missed more than 30 games, but the Wild have become healthy at the right time. They had their entire roster available for the final regular-season game on Tuesday for the first time since Nov. 10. Advertisement 'When you look around the room and you're missing pieces, it wears on you,' Wild forward Marcus Foligno said. "It's noticeable. Everyone's going to say keep moving forward, next man up, but you take away (Connor) McDavid and (Leon) Draisaitl from Edmonton, it's a different-looking team. So we get them back now, and I think it's something maybe we can use to our advantage that Vegas hasn't seen before.' Scoring in bunches There was a lot of external talk on where the Golden Knights would get their scoring given they lost players, such as Jonathan Marchessault, who led the club with 42 goals and 69 points. The Golden Knights not only adequately replaced such players, they set franchise records with 274 goals and a plus-60 goal differential. Advertisement 'It's not just about one line,' said Hertl, whose 32 goals were just three off his career high set six years ago with San Jose. 'It's about the four lines. We played all season like that. Six players play 20 to 23 minutes every night. We have everybody spreading the time. Everybody has a piece in it, and I think that's why it's such a good hockey team.' Blue line bump from Buium? The Wild signed their 2024 first-round draft pick, defenseman Zeev Buium, less than a week ago after his college career with Denver ended in the NCAA Frozen Four. Buium didn't suit up for the final regular-season game, but in practice on Thursday he skated on the third blue-line pair with Zach Bogosian and on the first power-play unit. 'It was a good day for Zeev to put him in some situations that we think he can help us in and just continue to try to make him feel comfortable and understand what's going on,' coach John Hynes said. Advertisement The 19-year-old Buium has, by all accounts, been a quick study. 'I'm just excited," he said. "Every day coming to the rink, it's fun to be here. This is the highest level. This is where you want to be. If my name gets called upon, I'll be ready' Swallowing the whistle The Golden Knights showed their discipline by taking 197 penalties, the only NHL team to ever finish with fewer than 200 in an 82-game season. But they also set the league record by going on just 187 power plays, though the Golden Knights converted a team-record 28.3%, second in the league to Winnipeg's 28.9% 'I don't know why we can't draw more penalties,' Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. 'I feel like every game those 60-40, 70-30 ones never seem to go our way. I can't control that. I try to stay off the refs. I do think we are a big, strong team. We don't go down easy. At least since I've been here, I don't know if anybody's gotten a letter or fine for diving or anything like that.' Advertisement Fleury on other side in 2021 When the Wild lost in seven games to the Golden Knights in the first round in 2021, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was on the opposite side. He gave up only 13 goals, including a shutout in Game 4. There was previously a picture of Eriksson Ek scoring the overtime winner on Fleury in Game 1 of that series hanging in the Wild locker room that Fleury, a noted prankster who joined the Wild in a trade less than a year later, mischievously altered by putting some tape on top of the puck so it wouldn't look like a goal. Fleury is the emergency backup now, supporting Filip Gustavsson in his farewell season. He knows first-hand how loud T-Mobile Arena can get and will surely be when the Wild take the ice for Game 1. Advertisement 'Music's loud, building's loud. It's got some energy in it. Sometimes you've got to just be able to relax a little bit, just breathe, instead of going 100 miles an hour,' Fleury said. 'Be smart with your energy and go at the right time and stay calm and try to play your game.' ___ AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in St. Paul, Minnesota, contributed to this report. ___ AP NHL:
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Victor Olofsson Absent From Golden Knights Practice
Vegas Golden Knights' Victor Olofsson is not participating in practice today with the trade deadline approaching. The Golden Knights stepped onto the ice for practice today an hour before the 2025 NHL trade deadline and did so without Olofsson. The 29-year-old has scored 11 goals and 22 points in 40 games, and joined the Golden Knights in the offseason, signing a one-year, $1.075M contract in the offseason. The season started greatly for the Swedish winger until he suffered an injury which forced him to miss 19 games. When he returned, his offensive pace slowed down, but he's still been a solid goal scorer. After the acquisition of Reilly Smith, the log jam of wingers has grown and the Golden Knights could be looking to move Olofsson as part of a bigger move. No information has been given about his absence, but due to the time of this, it's natural for speculation about a trade to circulate. Olofsson was on the receiving end of a big hit against the Toronto Maple Leafs and could be the reason why he did not partake in practice. Stay updated with the most interesting Jets stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favourites on Google News to never miss a story.
Associated Press
12-02-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
4 Nations is another chance for Jack Eichel to show how he has evolved into an elite NHL player
BROSSARD, Quebec (AP) — Jack Eichel is not the most well-known American in hockey. He's not even the most famous center from his country, thanks to captain Auston Matthews and his star power. He's just the United States' best and most important player, less than two years removed from keying the Vegas Golden Knights' Stanley Cup run and yet still somehow underappreciated beyond the most dedicated watchers of the sport and those around him. Drafted second behind Connor McDavid a decade ago and having persevered through a neck injury that threatened to derail his career, the international stage of the 4 Nations Face-Off with the Milan Olympics a year away is another chance for Eichel to play his way out of that shadow and show off how much he has evolved. 'He's elite in so many capacities,' U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said Wednesday. 'He's always had an offensive dimension to his game. The physical attributes that he has, just with his size, his skating ability, his puck-handling ability, his vision, he can play any type of game. He can beat you a number of different ways.' And he does. Eichel, at 6-foot-2 and just over 200 pounds, has the size to overpower opponents and a skating stride so effortless that he blows by defenders. Vegas captain Mark Stone said, 'It doesn't look like he's going very fast' but Eichel can turn on the afterburners with ease. 'He might not be miles an hour the fastest guy in the league, but if he needs to take two hard steps and beat a guy, he's beating him — the guy's not catching him,' Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill said. 'He's so strong and just a freak athlete.' What makes Eichel elite is how he augments that athleticism with keen awareness of who's around him on the ice, where the puck is and how to navigate just about every situation in a game. U.S. teammate Chris Kreider marvels at Eichel's 'ability to take over the game and make everyone play at his speed.' 'His skating's so smooth with how he handles the puck and his ability to scan and take in information and then make the right plays, there's really not anything he can't do,' Kreider said. Eichel scored 26 goals and recorded 45 assists in 40 games in his one season of college hockey at Boston University, and he quickly became a point-a-game player a few years into the NHL with Buffalo. But the defensive prowess that sets him apart from his peers came more recently, after Bruce Cassidy began coaching him in Vegas after having six-time Selke Trophy-winning center Patrice Bergeron in Boston. 'As I've gotten older and wanted to build my game, it's a detail that I think I've learned to focus on a bit more,' Eichel said. 'It's something that helps you win games, and I realized how important it was if I wanted to gain the coach's trust and to be out on the ice in big moments that I needed him to be able to trust me in those situations, and that meant being responsible defensively. I definitely put a lot of work into it and take pride in it. You're always an unfinished product, so always working to get better.' Former Sabres teammate Rasmus Dahlin, who's playing for Sweden at the 4 Nations, said Eichel 'was using his speed a lot back in the days, but now he's using his brain way more.' Sullivan has noticed Eichel's play away from the puck improving, as well. Maybe it takes seeing him up close on a daily basis to understand everything Eichel can do. 'I didn't realize how good he was until I played on his team,' Hill said. 'He can take over a game and is so calm and poised with the puck, just sees the ice different. It is like the game is moving in slow motion out there. He's one of those rare players.' Now 28, Eichel is squarely in his prime and, along with the country's absurd goaltending talent, is a big reason the U.S. could seriously contend for Olympic gold in Milan. After the NHL skipped the Games in 2018 and withdrew late from sending players in 2022, Eichel said playing in that tournament is an opportunity he and many others around the league would love to have. But first, he's got the 4 Nations in front of him, with games in Montreal and Boston to add another chapter to his legacy. Viewers will get an up-close look at Eichel against the best competition from Finland, Canada and Sweden and might see why teammates like Florida's Matthew Tkachuk think he's a dominant No. 1 center. 'It's his size, it's his skating, it's the hands and it's the shot, the smarts,' Tkachuk said. 'Quite frankly, he's one of the best players in the league.'
