Khusnutdinov scores first NHL goal, but Wild thumped in Vegas: Key takeaways vs. Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS — Wild rookie Marat Khusnutdinov scored his first NHL goal in a losing effort as the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights became the final team in the Western Conference to clinch a playoff spot by easily defeating the Wild, 7-2, at T-Mobile Arena.

The Wild gave up three goals in the first 8 minutes and 35 seconds, and never mustered any shot of a comeback during an embarrassing night of soft play all over the ice, particularly along the walls.

Chandler Stephenson had four assists for Vegas and Tomas Hertl scored his first goal with the Golden Knights. Thirteen of Vegas’ 18 skaters had at least a point.

Ryan Hartman scored his 20th goal for the Wild. Marc-Andre Fleury was in net for all seven goals and the beloved former Golden Knight was serenaded throughout with “Fleury” chants just in case this was the final time he was on the ice as an NHL player against Vegas.

  • The Wild have won eight of 30 games against the nine teams ahead of them in the Western Conference standings and have lost 12 of their past 13.
  • Forwards Mats Zuccarello and Freddy Gaudreau were back in the Twin Cities for family reasons. It was up for debate whether it was worth even having them join the team in California for the next two road games with the Wild’s season ending Thursday at home against Seattle.
  • Matt Boldy played his 200th NHL game and Marco Rossi his 100th.
  • 2022 first-round pick Liam Ohgren made his NHL debut. He became the 312th player (290th skater) and 19th Swedish-born player to play a regular-season game for the Wild.
  • Rookie Jesper Wallstedt, coming off a shutout in Chicago, will make his third career start Saturday night in San Jose.

Khusnutdinov scores first NHL goal

In his 13th NHL game, the 21-year-old Khusnutdinov became the 98th player to score a regular-season goal for the Wild. The fast, hard-working center redirected fellow rookie Brock Faber’s point shot on a power play to cut a 3-1 deficit to a short-lived two-goal deficit before Jonathan Marchessault’s power-play goal against former Golden Knights teammate, Fleury. Marcus Johansson quickly collected the keepsake puck for Khusnutdinov.

Wild’s penalty kill awful … as usual

It wouldn’t be a Wild game without their penalty kill leaking uncontrollably. Fleury, who entered the game with a .820 save percentage on the penalty kill, surrendered a couple of goals to Jack Eichel and Marchessault. The Wild’s penalty kill went 2-for-4 and is now ranked 30th in the NHL at 72.9 percent. They have allowed 66 power-play goals, second-most in the NHL. Johansson, who turned the puck before Vegas’ second goal with a soft wall play, lost the puck on a shorthanded rush and then compounded things by taking an offensive-zone slashing minor that led to Vegas’ fourth goal.

Ohgren makes NHL debut

The Wild were annihilated, but it wasn’t the 21-year-old rookie Ohgren’s fault. In his first NHL game, he skated with Khusnutdinov and Vinni Lettieri and wasn’t on for a goal until Hertl’s goal gave Vegas a 5-1 lead. His first shift came on the power play and he was on the ice for Khusnutdinov’s tally. He finished with two shots, three attempts and two hits in 14:07 of ice time.

GO DEEPER

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Three stars

1. Chandler Stephenson, Golden Knights: The pending free agent assisted on four Vegas goals.
2. Jack Eichel, Golden Knights: Last year’s Conn Smythe Trophy runner-up scored a power-play goal and had an assist.
3. Noah Hanifin, Golden Knights: Fresh off an 8-year extension worth $7.35 million, the recently acquired defenseman had two assists.

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