Count on reliable Golden Knights veterans to eliminate the Minnesota Wild

The Vegas Golden Knights became the first team from the Western Conference to advance to the second round with a 3-2 Game 6 win on Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild. Like the other five games in this series, it was not easy.

Mark Stone seemed to ice it with a little under four minutes left in the game before Ryan Hartman’s second goal, 31 seconds later, made for yet another “heart in your voice box” finish that signified so much of this first-round series. The Golden Knights’ Twitter summed up the vibe of that period quite well.

The opponent’s still up for grabs as of this writing. But that joyous, lovely feeling after Thursday night isn’t. Here are my three takeaways on another “Playoff Pretty” night in St. Paul.

Big names rise to the occasion for the Golden Knights

First, it was Jack Eichel with another multi-point night and his first goal of the postseason in the second on a gorgeous pass by Stone that missed Kirill Kaprizov’s stick by a matter of millimeters. That's not to mention five blocked shots on the night, more than any other game in the series. Paired with his play in Games 4 and 5, it’s the kind of performance that can turn into a massive hot streak. That is good news heading into the next round.

Then there was Mark Stone. Along with his first multi-point game in the playoffs since the hat trick in Game 5 that clinched the Stanley Cup, he also had a massive block of a Brock Faber shot in the second period during that power play. It’s the kind of all-around game that could work wonders in the second round, whether it’s against Anze Kopitar or Corey Perry.

Adin Hill with his best night of the series

It’s been somewhat of a roller coaster series for Adin Hill in net. His performance ping-ponging between “solid” and “migraine-inducing” has been the theme. On Thursday night, Hill pulled together his first really excellent game, stopping 29 shots to run his career record in series-clinching games to 4-1. The lone blemish was in a turnover behind his own net in the second that was clogged up by some good defense and shot into empty ice out of danger. Speaking of which…

Hill’s performance was supplemented by a team defense for Vegas that was sharper than it’s been all series, clogging up any odd man rush for the Wild and making them earn every bit of their 31 shots. They also had 24 blocked shots, the highest in the series since Game 1. That combination needs to be a presence in the next round and beyond if Vegas wants to keep this train a-rolling.

The power play (mostly) business as usual without Pavel Dorofeyev

Heading into the game, the big story was the absence of Pavel Dorofeyev due to an undisclosed injury. It didn’t seem to harm or help the power play for the Golden Knights a lot Thursday night, going one-for-four with the man advantage. Plus, Filip Gustavsson continued to be Minnesota’s best penalty killer.

But it is something that could turn into a bigger question if this injury eats up more than one night. It’s why winning this Game 6 in St. Paul was so big for this team. Any extra drop of rest for him should raise the chances he pops back on the second line for Game 1.

Next on the Marquee:

It's a lot of rest back at the Fortress, waiting for either the Edmonton Oilers or the Los Angeles Kings in the next round. It’ll be a little while before we know the details. Looking at the scoreline in Edmonton as I write this (9:10 P.M. PDT Thursday), it looks like it’ll be Edmonton and a repeat of the bloody and smoky drama from when they met in the playoffs two years ago.

It's one where Leon Draisaitl had five goals in the first two games of that series, and zip the rest of the way; a stat Vegas is going to have to repeat if Edmonton indeed is next up. Until then…