Joel Eriksson Ek finally beats Marc-Andre Fleury on OT deflection as Wild take Game 1 (Video)

After 63 minutes filled with highlight reel saves, Joel Eriksson Ek finally got a puck past Marc-Andre Fleury in overtime to give the Minnesota Wild a 1-0 series lead.

It took nearly 63 minutes for a goal to be scored in Game 1 between the Minnesota Wild and Vegas Golden Knights. But it sure wasn’t due to a lack of effort. The two teams combined for 72 shots on goal and 128 shot attempts. Joel Eriksson Ek had the 72nd shot on goal and it wound up being the one that ended the game.

This game was a nice change of pace after the first two games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs featured 12 combined goals. Though this game only had one goal, there were probably more highlights in this game than there were in the previous two.

Hat tip to both of the goaltenders. Cam Talbot and Marc-Andre Fleury put on fabulous performances and it’s a darn shame one of them had to lose. They gave everything they had and for 63 minutes, and they had their opponents flustered.

What’s next for the Wild and Golden Knights?

Minnesota will look to take a 2-0 series lead on Tuesday. They should probably look for a way to beat Fleury without shooting the puck off one of his own defensemen, though. Also, the Wild were outshot significantly (42 to 30), which isn’t a very good sign.

Meanwhile, the Knights have to regroup and figure out why they can’t score goals in the postseason. The process is certainly there. But the results aren’t. And at the end of the day, results are what matter in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.