LAS VEGAS -- There are storylines aplenty across every NHL Playoff series, and will be as we get closer to the Stanley Cup Final.
When the Golden Knights open their series against the Minnesota Wild, it'll mark the second time the franchises meet in the playoffs.
Vegas won the first postseason battle in seven games, after the Wild turned back a 3-1 series deficit to tie the seven-game set, only to lose in the decisive final game at T-Mobile Arena.
Those still on the roster haven't forgotten. One guy on the roster - Marc-Andre Fleury - surely hasn't forgotten since he was with the Knights at the time. Now he'll back up Filip Gustavsson in what could ironically be the final series of his Hall of Fame career.
Head-to-head matchups from all three units also provide intriguing storylines.
Gustavsson will be opposed by Adin Hill, who rose to fame when he came off the bench to lead the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup title in 2023 after Laurent Brossoit got hurt eight games into the playoffs.
Hill finished the season with 32 wins, the fifth most in the league, and a 2.47 goals-against average and .906 save percentage. Gustavsson wasn't far behind with 31 wins, while finishing with a 2.56 GAA and .914 save percentage.
Both teams have top-tier defensemen in Jared Spurgeon and Shea Theodore, who led the blueliners in points on the Wild and Knights, respectively.
Theodore enjoyed a better season than his counterpart, finishing 10th among all defensemen with 57 points. His 50 assists were the ninth highest in the league, while his 0.85 points per game ranked seventh. Spurgeon, who has 933 games played under his belt, had 32 points (7 goals and 25 assists) in 66 games played.
Last, but certainly not least, we have two of the most electric forwards in the NHL, with Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov and Vegas' Jack Eichel.
Kaprizov just recently returned to the lineup after missing February and March, but he was also leading the Hart Trophy conversation in December after opening the season with 23 goals and 50 points in his first 34 games. His scoring prowess at the time lifted the Wild to the top of the NHL standings.
Eichel, a Hart and Selke Trophy candidate, is having a career season. He racked up a career-best 94 points (8th in the NHL) behind 66 assists, another career-high, in 77 games. His 66 helpers ranked sixth among all skaters. His 1.22 points per game were eighth best, while his 34 power-play points were seventh highest. Coincidentally, his 11 points in nine games from Dec. 4-27 helped push the Knights to a deadlock with Winnipeg and New Jersey atop the league standings on Dec. 27.
The matchups run much deeper than these three, obviously, which goes back to many storylines that could unfold when the series gets underway Sunday night at 7 pm (pacific) inside T-Mobile Arena.
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