Postgame Hat Trick: Golden Knights 6, Wild 2

The Wild lost to the Vegas Golden Knights 6-2 in Game 7 of its First Round series Friday night at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the game in the latest edition of the Postgame Hat Trick, powered by Xcel Energy:

1. End of the line.
The Wild looked done down 3-1 in this best-of-7 series, but to its credit, it rallied back to win Game 5 on the road and secured a big home victory in Game 6 to force a seventh and deciding game.
It just ran out of gas on Friday night.
It didn't help that the Wild lost defenseman Jonas Brodin in the first period to an injury. He never returned. With Brodin out, Minnesota was forced to play with just five defensemen, one of which was playing in just his third NHL playoff game and sixth in all.
It didn't help when Ryan Suter was viciously and unnecessarily crosschecked into the crossbar by Ryan Reaves. He was slow off the ice and back to the bench, and didn't miss a shift, but you know he was feeling it the rest of the game.
Joel Eriksson Ek also got nicked up in the game, having his bulky knee rolled up on - the same one he smashed into the post in Game 6 at Xcel Energy Center. He missed a couple shifts, but would return. He wasn't 100 percent to begin with, but he gutted out another period and a half of action.

Vegas, meanwhile, got back some reinforcements in Game 7 , including leading goal scorer Max Pacioretty, who played for the first time in the series on Friday night. He made an immediate impact too, scoring the Knights third goal of the game, one which gave Vegas a lead it wouldn't surrender.
Reaves also returned after missing Game 6, and let his presence be known most notably with the cheap shot on Suter.
2. Parise makes it look easy.
Since being inserted into the lineup in Game 4, Zach Parise had been one of the Wild's most effective forwards. He scored a big goal here in Game 5, then started the rush that ignited a three-goal third period in Game 6. On Friday night, he scored another goal - in patented Parise fashion - from the top of the crease, gaining control of a deflected puck then slipping it between his legs and through the five hole of Marc-Andre Fleury, tying the game at 1-1 late in the first period.

All those whispers about Parise losing a step went away during the postseason, as the veteran forward appeared to have plenty of jump. His insertion into the lineup was a major reason the Wild was able to rally from 3-1 down to force a Game 7.
3. Something had to give.
Minnesota entered the game 3-0 all time in Game 7s. Vegas coach Pete DeBoer entered the game 5-0 all time in Game 7s, including a win as San Jose's coach in 2019 against these same Golden Knights, a series where Vegas had blown a 3-1 series lead.
History nearly repeated itself yet again, as Minnesota nearly capped one of the most difficult comebacks in sports by winning the final three games of a series in must-win fashion.
Instead, the Wild become the 32nd team in NHL history to rally from 3-1 down in a series only to lose in Game 7.
With how much success the Knights have had in their brief history, it's crazy to think that Friday's contest was the first Game 7 in T-Mobile Arena history. It was an electric atmosphere in the building, and props to the impressive collection of Wild fans who made the trip.
Vegas will advance to play the Colorado Avalanche in the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in what should be a fast, entertaining series between the two clubs that tied for the top spot in the NHL this season.