Knights star ‘exerted his dominance’ in crucial Game 5 win over Wild
Jack Eichel answered questions for less than two minutes the morning of Game 3 on April 24.
It wasn’t difficult to tell the Golden Knights center was frustrated with his start to the team’s first-round playoff series with the Minnesota Wild.
Eichel knew the narrative. The Wild’s top line with left wing Kirill Kaprizov and right wing Matt Boldy was thriving. The Knights’ top group, led by Eichel, was not.
Eichel said Monday, two days after his team’s thrilling 4-3 overtime win in Game 4 on Saturday, “I have to be better.”
He was Tuesday.
Eichel delivered his best performance of the series in the Knights’ 3-2 overtime win in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena, recording two primary assists in a team-high 23:30 of ice time.
Now his club can advance to the second round with a win in Game 6 at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“I think if you look at the first four games, he’d be the first to say he didn’t love the way he was playing,” captain Mark Stone said. “But (Tuesday), he exerted his dominance. He controlled the puck, backed their defense off, made great plays.”
All-around force
The Knights needed Eichel to set the tone in Game 5.
Not just because of his importance to the team — he set a franchise record with 94 points in the regular season while playing excellent defense — but because of who he was playing with.
Coach Bruce Cassidy mixed up the Knights’ forward lines in Game 4, moving center William Karlsson to Eichel’s left wing. The goal was to give the team a better defensive matchup for Kaprizov and Boldy, who have combined for 16 points this series.
Eichel and Karlsson’s two-way play stood out right away in Game 5 on Tuesday. Just not at five-on-five. Eichel forced a turnover from Kaprizov on the power play, drew three Wild forwards to him and then slid a pass to Karlsson for a short-handed goal that gave the Knights a 1-0 lead 8:25 into the first period.
“I thought he played a really good game,” Karlsson said. “He got rewarded. Easy player to play with, a guy who can create space and separate from the opponent.”
Eichel said Monday he wanted to be better at creating looks off the cycle in the offensive zone. He did that on his second assist Tuesday. He retrieved the puck in the corner, held it and set up Stone for a one-timer that gave the Knights a 2-1 advantage 6:36 before the first intermission.
No worries
Cassidy wasn’t concerned after Eichel recorded no goals and one assist the first four games of the series. He thought Eichel’s play in the second half of Game 4 went to another level thanks to his physicality and play along the boards.
Cassidy offered a reminder that right wing Jonathan Marchessault didn’t score a goal the first seven games of the playoffs in 2023. Marchessault finished with an NHL-leading 13 that postseason and won the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP after the Knights lifted the Stanley Cup.
“Things can change. Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way early and you’ve got to help the team win. That’s what we’re asking (of) Jack,” Cassidy said. “He’s a driver and that’s going to bother him if it’s talked about, and it will be talked about. We’re here every day and we see what he’s doing.”
Cassidy changed the lines in part to get Eichel going, but he thought Eichel would play well Tuesday no matter what.
The shakeup worked as intended. The Knights had a 15-8 edge in shot attempts with Eichel and Karlsson on the ice at five-on-five, according to the website Natural Stat Trick.
“If a team’s going to advance, usually the cream rises to the top,” Cassidy said. “Whether they dominate or fill the score sheet, they tend to start playing better. That’s why they’ve gotten to where they are. Good on Jack. To me, it’s 100 percent on him. He just elevated.”
Dorofeyev in question
Eichel and Karlsson’s other linemate Tuesday, right wing Pavel Dorofeyev, is considered day to day after sitting out the final 4:04 of the third period and all of overtime in Game 5 with an undisclosed ailment.
Cassidy said the team, which didn’t skate Wednesday, will have a better idea of Dorofeyev’s status by Thursday’s morning skate.
On the opposite bench, Wild coach John Hynes said all signs point to goaltender Filip Gustavsson being good to go for Game 6 after sitting out the third period and overtime Tuesday with an illness. Former Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made six saves in relief of Gustavsson but gave up the overtime winner to center Brett Howden.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.