Minnesota Wild-Las Vegas Golden Knights playoff schedule: How to watch

Wild get ready to face Vegas Golden Knights in playoffs

The Minnesota Wild face the Vegas Golden Knights to open the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Head coach John Hynes, Mats Zuccarello, Kirill Kaprizov and Marcus Foligno spoke after practice on Thursday at TRIA Rink.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - For the 11th time in the last 13 seasons, the Minnesota Wild has a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Wild got there after beating the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime Tuesday night. Joel Erikkson Ek’s goal with 22 seconds left in regulation got the game to overtime, giving the Wild the point they needed to secure a playoff spot.

Wild react after clinching playoff spot

The Minnesota Wild beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Marc-Andre Fleury and Jake Middleton spoke from the locker room after the game.

The Wild now faces the Las Vegas Golden Knights in a best-of-seven series. Wild fans will either need pregame naps, or get your caffeine ready, or both. The NHL has announced the schedule for the first four games of the series.

The schedule

What we know:

• The Wild is in Las Vegas for Game 1 Sunday night, a 9 p.m. central time start on ESPN.
• Game 2 is set for a 10 p.m. start on Tuesday, April 22 on ESPN.
• The series comes back to Minnesota for Game 3, an 8 p.m. start at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday, April 24. The game will be broadcast on TBS.
• Game 4 is at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 26. The game will be broadcast on TBS.

Puck drop times for Games 5, 6 and 7 will be announced as necessary. If there is a Game 5, it would be in Las Vegas on Tuesday, April 29.

A series rematch

The backstory:

The Wild last faced the Golden Knights in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The series went seven games, with the Golden Knights advancing. The Wild is 0-3 against the Golden Knights this season.

Wild playoff history

Why you should care:

The Wild has a recent playoff history it would like to forget. They have not won a playoff series since the 2014-15 season. In the last nine seasons, they’ve missed the playoffs twice and been eliminated in the first round seven other times.