Nevada (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Marcus Johansson scored 4 points as the Minnesota Wild beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 in Las Vegas, showcasing their strong season form.
As reported by Reuters, Marcus Johansson recorded a goal and three assists as the Minnesota Wild jumped to a 5-0 advantage and secured a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Las Vegas on Monday, 29 December.
How did the Minnesota Wild defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2?
Marcus Johansson recorded his second career four-point performance, his first since March 28, 2017, when he achieved it with the Capitals against the Wild.
Matt Boldy, Jared Spurgeon, and Joel Eriksson Ek all contributed a goal and an assist, Jonas Brodin added two assists, and Brock Faber also scored as Minnesota improved to 21-4-3 since November 1.
Filip Gustavsson made 14 saves as Minnesota limited the Vegas Golden Knights to a season-low 16 shots on goal.
Vegas Golden Knights’ goals came from Brayden McNabb and Mark Stone, while Ivan Barbashev contributed two assists, as the team lost for the fifth time in their last six games (1-3-2).
Beginning his fourth consecutive game, Carter Hart allowed five goals on 12 shots before leaving in the second period, with Akira Schmid finishing and stopping all 15 shots he faced.
Minnesota opened the second game of a 14-day, seven-game road trip following a 4-3 overtime win at Winnipeg, taking a 1-0 lead just 26 seconds in on Johansson’s one-timer past Hart’s glove side.
At 14:06 of the opening period, Boldy netted his 25th goal of the season to make it 2-0, completing a 2-on-1 play with Eriksson Ek and beating Hart’s blocker.
At 26 seconds into the second period, Jared Spurgeon extended the Wild’s lead to 3-0 with a wrist shot from the left circle, beating Hart’s glove past Eriksson Ek’s screen.
Faber scored on a wrist shot from inside the blue line and above the right circle, threading through traffic past Hart’s blocker, marking the third 4-0 deficit for Vegas in the last five games.
At 6:56, Eriksson Ek made it 5-0 by redirecting Boldy’s pass from the crease into the left side of the net, forcing Hart out of position.
After losing center Tomas Hertl to a first-period boarding penalty and game misconduct for a hit on Ryan Hartman, Vegas reduced the deficit to 5-1 late in the second when McNabb fired a wrist shot from the left circle into the far right post.
Early in the third, Mark Stone pushed the lead to 5-2, converting a loose puck in front of the net through Gustavsson’s pads on the doorstep to seal the game.
What did the head coach and players say about Minnesota’s strong start?
John Hynes, head coach for the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, said,
“They were excellent. Obviously, that pair was really good on both sides of the puck. The commitment to block shots when they were in those situations, particularly on the penalty kill, was a big factor — particularly early in the game.”
He added,
“He’s playing with a lot of confidence. I think his skating has been great. His two-way game has been really solid, and I think he’s certainly deserving of the production that he’s getting as well.”
Marcus Johansson said,
“Playing with those two is a lot of fun and easy for the most part, too,” Johansson said. “Yeah, we’ve been clicking. I think we all like playing with each other, and we work hard. Just try and help each other out.”
He stated,
“We had a good start. And we built off of that.”
Eriksson Ek added,
“It’s been a good start on this road trip. And hopefully we can keep building on it.”
When is the Wild’s next game against the Golden Knights?
The Vegas Golden Knights are set to play the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, with puck drop at 12:00 PM PT.
The next for the Minnesota Wild is against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, at 1:00 PM PT.
The Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights will face each other again later in the season on Friday, March 6, 2026, at 7:00 PM PT.
