Vegas Golden Knights (40-14-2, second in the West Division during the regular season) vs. Minnesota Wild (35-16-5, third in the West Division during the regular season)
St. Paul, Minnesota; Saturday, 8 p.m. EDT
LINE: Wild +109, Golden Knights -131; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Golden Knights lead series 2-1
BOTTOM LINE: The Vegas Golden Knights visit the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the NHL Playoffs with a 2-1 lead in the series. The teams meet Saturday for the 12th time this season. The Golden Knights won the last matchup 5-2. Mark Stone scored a team-high two goals for the Golden Knights in the victory.
The Wild are 35-16-5 against the rest of their division. Minnesota ranks eighth in the NHL averaging 3.2 goals per game, led by Kirill Kaprizov with 27.
The Golden Knights are 40-14-2 against the rest of their division. Vegas has scored 190 goals and is third in the league averaging 3.4 goals per game. Max Pacioretty leads the team with 24.
TOP PERFORMERS: Kaprizov leads the Wild with 51 points, scoring 27 goals and collecting 24 assists. Joel Eriksson Ek has four goals and one assist over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
Stone leads the Golden Knights with 40 total assists and has 61 points. Reilly Smith has six goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Vegas.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wild: 5-4-1, averaging 2.7 goals , 4.7 assists, 3.2 penalties and 6.7 penalty minutes while giving up 3.5 goals per game with an .886 save percentage.
Golden Knights: 7-2-1, averaging 3.4 goals , six assists, 3.2 penalties and 6.7 penalty minutes while giving up two goals per game with a .919 save percentage.
INJURIES: Wild: Marcus Johansson: day to day (upper body).
Golden Knights: Peyton Krebs: out (upper body), Max Pacioretty: day to day (undisclosed).
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