Pacioretty’s return, Janmark’s hat trick power Golden Knights to Game 7 victory over Wild

By Justin Emerson

Friday, May 28, 2021 | 10:48 p.m.

There was only one way for this series to end for the Golden Knights.

After weeks of questions about his availability and after not seeing him in nearly a month, there was only logical conclusion when Max Pacioretty darted down the tunnel for warmups to provide an already electric crowd at T-Mobile Arena one more jolt.

Pacioretty scored the game-winning goal in the second period of Game 7 against the Wild, which could easily be considered the most predictable outcome for anyone who believes in destiny.

Pacioretty put Vegas ahead for good, and winger Mattias Janmark stole the show, scoring the first goal of the game as well as two more to get showered with hats from appreciative fans for recording a hat trick in the Golden Knights’ 6-2 series-clinching victory for a spot in the next road.

The Golden Knights will open the second round at 5 p.m. Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver.

“For anyone who knows who Max Pacioretty is and what he does for our team, you know what kind of boost he is,” defenseman Zach Whitecloud said. “Especially for an older guy in the room, a leader, a guy who plays with passion, plays with fire. He wants to score every game and score as much as he can. When you have that guy in your room, on the ice, it makes a world of difference.

“Obviously you saw what he did tonight.”

Pacioretty hasn’t been with the team since May 1 game early, despite near-daily questions to coach Pete DeBoer and weeks of him being labeled a game-time decision. There was no prior indication he was going to play tonight, and his emergence felt like the Golden Knights’ version of Kirk Gibson pinch-hitting in the 1988 World Series for the Dodger.

DeBoer said there was an instant stir inside the room the moment he wrote Pacioretty’s name on the lineup board, and it was echoed by the 12,156 fans inside the arena when they saw him. The crowd went ballistic when he took his first shift of the game, then again when he one-timed home a Chandler Stephenson pass to put the Golden Knights up 3-2 in the second period.

It held up as the game-winner.

“There were some good days and bad days, but I turned the corner there a couple of days ago,” Pacioretty said. “A lot of people behind the scenes were helping me around the clock to get to where I’m right now and that’s what helped me feel so good tonight. So I’m thankful for all the people that put in the effort to get me out there and that was a big reason why I was able to play tonight.”

Pacioretty had a team-best 24 goals in the regular season, while also serving as the Golden Knights premier trigger man on the power play. Vegas’ scoring went in waves in the six games without him this series, but his absence was most noticed in a Game 5 loss where Vegas dominated possession, but didn’t have the finish to come back. The team also failed to score in Game 6.

He naturally scored in his return, but the Golden Knights also got scoring from up and down the lineup. Third-pair defensemen Nicolas Hague and Zach Whitecloud both netted their firsts of the series, and Janmark had three.

Janmark came to Vegas in an April 12 trade and scored just once in his first 21 games with the team, including in the playoffs. And that one goal was an empty-netter.

A month and half of a scoring drought that DeBoer mentioned was “weighing on him” came to an emphatic end Friday. He scored the initial goal of the game to give the Golden Knights the lead in the first period, then put the game on ice with a one-timer in the third for a 5-2 advantage.

He completed the hat trick with the game’s final goal, hustling to dive for the puck and get just enough of his stick on it to bat it into the empty net. It was the first hat trick of his career.

He looked in shock when Alex Tuch bull-rushed him for the celebratory hug, then sheepishly acknowledged the crowd when he was put on the big screen from the bench, flanked by Tuch and Mark Stone nudging him on.

“To score a hat trick is what everyone dreams of and it’s hard to believe it’s going to happen to you,” Janmark said. “It’s a dream come true for sure.”

The way the Golden Knights were playing, they may not have needed Janmark’s extra goals, but they’ll happily take them. The Wild had answered Janmark’s goal in the first period and Nicolas Hague’s goal in the second with tallies of their own. There was no reason to think, with their season on the line, the Wild wouldn’t come into the third and empty the tank.

They tried, but the Golden Knights played some of their best defensive hockey in the third to hold the Wild to just four shots in the period.

“They’re a really tough team to play against because they’re very opportunistic,” DeBoer said. “I really liked our game right from the drop of the puck but they were still hanging around halfway through it.”

And so onto Colorado the Golden Knights advance for a long-awaited showdown with the other West Division superpower. The Golden Knights and Avalanche finished tied for the best record in the league, with the Avalanche claiming the top seed and the President’s Trophy with a tiebreaker.

Minnesota is history. The Avalanche are up next.

“I love our group,” DeBoer said. “I’m proud of how we handled the first round and obviously we’re excited to get to work here and seeing how we stack up against Colorado.”