Golden Knights at Wild
Is the honeymoon over in Las Vegas? OK, it was only one game, but the Vegas Golden Knights learned a sobering lesson in their season opener -- the franchise's magical first year is history. The Golden Knights attempt to bounce back from a drubbing by Philadelphia when they visit the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night to open a five-game road trip.
Vegas won the Pacific Division title en route to reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in its inaugural season, but it was manhandled 5-2 by the Flyers after raising division and conference banners in pregame ceremonies. "We need to be ready. This was definitely not good enough of an effort," forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "Every night there's good hockey teams. And if we're not ready, we're going to get spanked like we just did." The Wild will also be attempting to bounce back from a three-goal defeat in Colorado, a team that was their nemesis last season. Minnesota won all three matchups against the Golden Knights last season -- one of only two teams to sweep Vegas.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, AT&T Sportsnet-Rocky Mountain (Vegas), FS North, FS Wisconsin (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (0-1-0): Marc-Andre Fleury posted a career-low 2.24 goals-against average for Vegas last season but he had a forgettable opener Thursday, getting the hook after allowing five goals in 1 1/2 periods. "It was on the team," coach Gerard Gallant of the decision to yank Fleury. "I didn't like the way we were playing. I didn't like the tap-in goals. Marc will be upset with himself, but it wasn't Marc-Andre Fleury. It was our team." Fleury did have one highlight before exiting the contest, picking up an assist on Marchessault's opening goal.
ABOUT THE WILD (0-1-0): Minnesota's 4-1 loss wasn't as lopsided as the score indicated -- the Wild surrendered a pair of empty-net tallies in the final 1:53 so coach Bruce Boudreau wasn't putting too much stock in one game. "The sun came up," Boudreau said. "I didn't like the way we played, but if you start getting overly depressed after game one, I think it could make for a long year. And the players feed off of that." Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk, who turned aside 36 of 38 shots Thursday, allowed two goals in each of his two victories over the Golden Knights last season.
OVERTIME
1. Golden Knights C Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored a short-handed goal in the opener -- the second of his career.
2. Wild F Mikael Granlund will skate in his 400th NHL game Saturday.
3. Vegas owns a losing record for the first time in franchise history.