Golden Knights and Wild healthy at the right time as they meet in NHL playoffs

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mark Stone was coming back from a lacerated spleen, Tomas Hertl was still trying to find his form after knee surgery and Alex Pietrangelo underwent an appendectomy as the playoffs neared.

The Golden Knights, according to NHL Injury Viz, led the league in man games lost to injury with 476. Last year, their season ended in a seven-game, first-round loss to Dallas.

The situation is considerably different this year as the Golden Knights prepare to open their first round series Sunday night against Minnesota. Vegas had 210 man games lost this season.

“Not only are we healthier, I think we're more just dialed in,” Stone said. “A few guys entered the lineup in the playoffs who hadn't played for a month or two months. We were trying to find chemistry. This year, I don't think we're really trying to find chemistry.”

The Golden Knights won their fourth Pacific Division title in eight years and captured the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. That set up Vegas against the Wild, who won the top wild card after going through their share of injuries this season.

Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin each missed more than 30 games, but the Wild have become healthy at the right time. They had their entire roster available for the final regular-season game on Tuesday for the first time since Nov. 10.

“When you look around the room and you’re missing pieces, it wears on you,” Wild forward Marcus Foligno said. "It’s noticeable. Everyone’s going to say keep moving forward, next man up, but you take away (Connor) McDavid and (Leon) Draisaitl from Edmonton, it’s a different-looking team. So we get them back now, and I think it’s something maybe we can use to our advantage that Vegas hasn’t seen before.”

There was a lot of external talk on where the Golden Knights would get their scoring given they lost players, such as Jonathan Marchessault, who led the club with 42 goals and 69 points.

The Golden Knights not only adequately replaced such players, they set franchise records with 274 goals and a plus-60 goal differential.

“It's not just about one line,” said Hertl, whose 32 goals were just three off his career high set six years ago with San Jose. “It's about the four lines. We played all season like that. Six players play 20 to 23 minutes every night. We have everybody spreading the time. Everybody has a piece in it, and I think that's why it's such a good hockey team.”

The Wild signed their 2024 first-round draft pick, defenseman Zeev Buium, less than a week ago after his college career with Denver ended in the NCAA Frozen Four. Buium didn’t suit up for the final regular-season game, but in practice on Thursday he skated on the third blue-line pair with Zach Bogosian and on the first power-play unit.

“It was a good day for Zeev to put him in some situations that we think he can help us in and just continue to try to make him feel comfortable and understand what’s going on,” coach John Hynes said.

The 19-year-old Buium has, by all accounts, been a quick study.

“I’m just excited," he said. "Every day coming to the rink, it’s fun to be here. This is the highest level. This is where you want to be. If my name gets called upon, I’ll be ready”

The Golden Knights showed their discipline by taking 197 penalties, the only NHL team to ever finish with fewer than 200 in an 82-game season.

But they also set the league record by going on just 187 power plays, though the Golden Knights converted a team-record 28.3%, second in the league to Winnipeg's 28.9%

“I don't know why we can't draw more penalties,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I feel like every game those 60-40, 70-30 ones never seem to go our way. I can't control that. I try to stay off the refs. I do think we are a big, strong team. We don't go down easy. At least since I've been here, I don't know if anybody's gotten a letter or fine for diving or anything like that.”

When the Wild lost in seven games to the Golden Knights in the first round in 2021, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was on the opposite side. He gave up only 13 goals, including a shutout in Game 4.

There was previously a picture of Eriksson Ek scoring the overtime winner on Fleury in Game 1 of that series hanging in the Wild locker room that Fleury, a noted prankster who joined the Wild in a trade less than a year later, mischievously altered by putting some tape on top of the puck so it wouldn’t look like a goal.

Fleury is the emergency backup now, supporting Filip Gustavsson in his farewell season. He knows first-hand how loud T-Mobile Arena can get and will surely be when the Wild take the ice for Game 1.

“Music’s loud, building’s loud. It’s got some energy in it. Sometimes you’ve got to just be able to relax a little bit, just breathe, instead of going 100 miles an hour,” Fleury said. “Be smart with your energy and go at the right time and stay calm and try to play your game.”

AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in St. Paul, Minnesota, contributed to this report.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury makes a save against the Anaheim Ducks during overtime of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) shoots the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Vegas Golden Knights' Tomas Hertl (48) celebrates his team's goal as Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf (32) reacts during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Calgary, Alberta, Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vegas Golden Knights' Mark Stone, right, is tripped by Calgary Flames' Nazem Kadri during first period NHL hockey action in Calgary on Saturday, April 5, 2025. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.

“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”

The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.

The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.

“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”

New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.

"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.

The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.

The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.

Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.

The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.

The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.

Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.

Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”

“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.

State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”

The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.

It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)