Howden scores twice and Golden Knights beat Wild 4-2 in Game 1

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Brett Howden had never scored double-digit goals until this season. Then he went out and scored 23.

Turns out, Howden isn't finished.

He had what turned out to be the game-winning goal and later delivered an empty netter, and the Vegas Golden Knights opened their first-round Western Conference playoffs series with a 4-2 victory Sunday night over the Minnesota Wild.

Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said he told Howden to stick with what he did in the regular season rather than try to do too much in the playoffs. Howden had just six career postseason goals before this game.

“He didn't change his game,” Cassidy said. “He played physical. He's part of our penalty kill. He's always out when the goalie's out, typically one of the six guys we use a lot because of his versatility. He can play wing. He can take draws as a center. He's been real good for us all year and good again tonight.”

Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights.

“I've been long excited for this moment,” Hertl said. “I always try to play my game, and I think it's kind of playoff style. I'm glad I could help the team today. It was a team effort.”

Pavel Dorofeyev scored the other Vegas goal, and Adin Hill made 18 saves.

Matt Boldy scored both Wild goals, Kirill Kaprizov assisted on both and Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 shots.

Game 2 is Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

“I think both teams came to play hard,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “Pretty strong defensive efforts. Not a lot of special teams in the game. I thought we did a lot of good things to build on moving forward.”

Both teams traded goals in the first period. Hertl took the puck from Minnesota's Brock Faber and hit the net from just inside the front side of the left circle. The Wild answered 2:20 later when Kaprizov delivered a cross-ice pass to Boldy, who scored off the rush.

Dorofeyev scored the only goal in the second period when Hertl won the faceoff to open a power play. The puck went to Shea Theodore, who skated to the center and set up Dorofeyev for a blast from the right circle. Dorofeyev has scored goals in three consecutive games going back to the end of the regular season.

Howden extended the Vegas lead to 3-1 early in the third period, but Boldy's wrap-around goal with 8:14 left brought Minnesota to within one. Howden added an empty-netter with less than 1 second remaining, the Golden Knights' second power-play goal.

Wild 19-year-old defenseman Zeev Buium made his NHL debut by playing on the third pair with Zach Bogosian. He played 13:37 with a shot on goal. Buium was playing for Denver just 10 days earlier in the NCAA's Frozen Four.

Linesman Bryan Pancich left the game 3:37 into the second period after a collision with Howden. Backup official Frederick L’Ecuyer took Pancich’s place.

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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) attempts to make a save during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) celebrates after scoring a goal during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb (3) skates past Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi (23) during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) celebrates with defenseman Shea Theodore (27) and center Tomas Hertl (48) after Dorofeyev's goal during the second period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild, Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi (23) skates past Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) during the second period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson (32) stops a shot from Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) during the second period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Vegas Golden Knights left wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) skates after a loose puck while Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson (32) looks on during the second period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) scores a goal past Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (7) and goaltender Adin Hill (33) during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Minnesota Wild center Gustav Nyquist (41) and left wing Marcus Foligno (17) check Vegas Golden Knights right wing Keegan Kolesar (55) during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Vegas Golden Knights center Tomas Hertl (48) celebrates after scoring a goal during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden (21) checks Minnesota Wild left wing Marcus Foligno (17) during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Glenn Hall, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose ironman streak of 502 starts as a goaltender remains an NHL record, has died. He was 94.

Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” Hall worked to stop pucks at a time when players at his position were bare-faced, before masks of any kind became commonplace. He did it as well as just about anyone of his generation, which stretched from the days of the Original Six into the expansion era.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed the team received word of Hall’s death from his family. A league historian in touch with Hall’s son, Pat, said Hall died at a hospital in Stony Plain, Alberta, on Wednesday.

A pioneer of the butterfly style of goaltending of dropping to his knees, Hall backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs in 1968 with St. Louis when the Blues reached the final before losing to Montreal. He was the second of just six Conn Smythe winners from a team that did not hoist the Cup.

His run of more than 500 games in net is one of the most untouchable records in sports, given how the position has changed in the decades since. Second in history is Alec Connell with 257 from 1924-30.

“Glenn was sturdy, dependable and a spectacular talent in net,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “That record, set from 1955-56 to 1962-63, still stands, probably always will, and is almost unfathomable — especially when you consider he did it all without a mask.”

Counting the postseason, Hall started 552 games in a row.

Hall won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1956 when playing for the Detroit Red Wings. After two seasons, he was sent to the Black Hawks along with legendary forward Ted Lindsay.

Hall earned two of his three Vezina Trophy honors as the league's top goalie with Chicago, in 1963 and '67. The Blues took him in the expansion draft when the NHL doubled from six teams to 12, and he helped them reach the final in each of their first three years of existence, while winning the Vezina again at age 37.

Hall was in net when Boston's Bobby Orr scored in overtime to win the Cup for the Bruins in 1970, a goal that's among the most famous in hockey history because of the flying through the air celebration that followed. He played one more season with St. Louis before retiring in 1971.

“His influence extended far beyond the crease," Blues chairman Tom Stillman said. “From the very beginning, he brought credibility, excellence, and heart to a new team and a new NHL market.”

A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Hall was a seven-time first-team NHL All-Star who had 407 wins and 84 shutouts in 906 regular-season games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, and his No. 1 was retired by Chicago in 1988.

Hall was chosen as one of the top 100 players in the league's first 100 years.

Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz called Hall an innovator and “one of the greatest and most influential goaltenders in the history of our sport and a cornerstone of our franchise.”

“We are grateful for his extraordinary contributions to hockey and to our club, and we will honor his memory today and always,” Wirtz said.

The Blackhawks paid tribute to Hall and former coach and general manager Bob Pulford with a moment of silence before Wednesday night’s game against St. Louis. Pulford died Monday.

A Hall highlight video was shown on the center-ice videoboard. The lights were turned off for the moment of silence, except for a spotlight on the No. 1 banner for Hall that hangs in the rafters at the United Center.

Fellow Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the league's leader in wins with 691 and games played with 1,266, posted a photo of the last time he saw Hall along with a remembrance of him.

“Glenn Hall was a legend, and I was a big fan of his,” Brodeur said on social media. “He set the standard for every goaltender who followed. His toughness and consistency defined what it meant to play.”

AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.

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FILE - Glenn Hall, second from left, stands with fellow former Chicago Blackhawks players Stan Mikita, former general manager Tommy Ivan, Bobby Hull, Bill Wirtz and Tony Esposito during a pre-game ceremony at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Ill., April 14, 1994. (AP Photo/Fred Jewell, File)

FILE - St. Louis Blues goalie Glenn Hall, top right, is pinned to his net waiting to make a save on a Montreal Canadians shot as Blues' Noel Picard (4) tries to block the puck while Canadiens' John Ferguson (22) and Ralph Backstorm wait for a rebound in the third period of their NHL hockey Stanley Cup game, May 5, 1968. (AP Photo/Fred Waters, File)