“Yeah, it was just special. I don’t really know what else to say,” said Buium, who flipped a puck to his family along the boards. “It was just pretty amazing. Obviously, it was something I dreamed of my entire life. To see my family there, obviously without them I wouldn’t be here. It was, yeah, it was unreal.”
Mostly paired up with Zach Bogosian, who’s already had the rookie over for dinner, Buium skated 13:27, had three shot attempts and two of the Wild’s 54 hits that were the second most in a playoff game in franchise history.
“After my first shift, the nerves completely went away,” Buium said. “It was less nerves than I thought there was going to be. I think a little after my first shift, it’s like you’re playing hockey now.”
He might have added another highlight had he completed that pass to Boldy as the Wild vied for the tying goal after Eriksson Ek won his career-high 21st faceoff.
Instead, Howden’s empty-netter lifted the Vegas power play that ranked second in the league during the regular season to a perfect 2-for-2 finish, and the Wild are chasing in a series that started off much like their trek to extend their season: with little room for error.
“It was a hard-fought game by both teams,” Hynes said. “What we expected. Both teams came to play hard and pretty good defensive efforts. Not a lot of special teams in the game.
