LAS VEGAS (AP) Gerard Gallant and the Vegas Golden Knights still think Tom Wilson’s third-period hit on Jonathan Marchessault in the Stanley Cup Final opener was too late and probably a bit dirty.The coach also believes it sparked his team’s comeback victory in that Game 1 thriller.So while he wasn’t happy to hear Wilson will face no discipline from the NHL Calvin De Haan Jersey Womens , Gallant is hoping his team will remember the hit – and more importantly, how they played right after it – when they attempt to take a 2-0 series lead on the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night on the Strip.”The good thing about the hit is it really woke our team up,” Gallant said after an optional practice at the Golden Knights’ suburban training complex. ”I think it was a 4-4 game?”Indeed, two novice Stanley Cup finalists were deep into an entertainingly ramshackle opener, but the Knights took charge after that fateful collision left Marchessault sprawled on the ice. Vegas quickly got Tomas Nosek’s go-ahead goal , eventually won 6-4 and surged one game closer to an improbable championship.The focused aggression necessary to be a successful postseason team is a delicate concoction. The Golden Knights and Caps both had it during the conference playoffs, but they both admit it got away from them in Game 1.”I think both teams can be better,” Washington coach Barry Trotz said. ”It was a pretty sloppy game.”After one game to get used to the sky-high stakes of the last round of this tournament, both teams intend to channel their nervous energy more constructively in the future. Both coaches stressed the importance of discipline, completing assignments and not allowing the frenetic Vegas crowd to overwhelm their emotions.”There’s obviously nerves,” Washington’s Jay Beagle said. ”I’m not surprised at anything anymore, but in the Stanley Cup Final, usually it’s 2-1 or 1-0, not (6-4). But you don’t know what to expect from a team that you don’t know that much. Now we’ve got to know them a little bit more.”The mistakes that worry coaches also lead to exciting hockey Michael Ferland Jersey Womens , and the opener was thoroughly entertaining even before Wilson lowered the boom on Marchessault. The teams combined for a Final-record four lead changes in the highest-scoring opener in eight years for this final round.Wilson, who served a three-game suspension in the second round for breaking the jaw of Pittsburgh’s Zach Aston-Reese, and the Capitals still insist the hard-charging forward did nothing wrong when he leveled the Golden Knights’ top playoff scorer.”It’s within the rules,” Wilson said after practice at T-Mobile Arena. ”It’s a clean hit. I don’t know why it got so much media attention, to be honest. It’s a hard hit, but that’s the day and age we’re in. … I’m trying to play my game. There’s a lot of those hits that are going on, but it’s the Stanley Cup Final, and it’s within the rules.”The NHL Department of Player Safety agreed when it decided not to discipline Wilson for the shoulder-to-shoulder hit, clearly deciding that Wilson’s timing wasn’t extraordinarily late.Marchessault went to the dressing room and was examined for a possible concussion, but returned to the game. Gallant said the forward is feeling fine for Game 2.The Capitals had their own complaint about Vegas forward David Perron, who jumped on the ice after the whistle and made contact with Washington captain Alex Ovechkin during the scuffles immediately after the hit.Once the emotions died down, both teams realized they’ve got to check their more primal urges if they hope to play a solid game on the NHL’s biggest stage. The atmosphere in Las Vegas for the city’s first Final has been electric, but the Caps weren’t intimidated by the frenzied crowd.Washington goalie Braden Holtby said the biggest difference about playing in Vegas is ”the bass they put in the building. Maybe that’s a little false when … you’re literally shaking from the bass. That’s the only difference. (Their) fans are loud. Our fans are loud. Tampa’s, Pitt’s Derek Ryan Jersey Womens , Columbus, all fans are loud.”The condition of the T-Mobile Arena ice also caused occasional problems for both teams with its inconsistencies and general roughness, but nobody is claiming the first-year NHL building has any unusual problems. The conditions certainly didn’t hurt the offensive players in any meaningful way, given the final score.”Ice isn’t an excuse, because it’s the same for both teams,” Holtby said. ”You just want to figure it out quicker than them, and obviously they’ve had the advantage playing here for a while. Our ice isn’t any different than it is here. It’s just little differences. When it’s that hot out, there’s always one thing that’s not great. We’re just figuring out what you can and can’t do.”—More Stanley Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals NEW YORK (AP) The Minnesota Wild have been thriving lately on the road to keep pace in the Central Division. After smothering the Rangers 4-1, they completed a three-game sweep in the New York area.Mikael Granlund and Eric Staal each scored twice and Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves in the Wild’s victory over the free-falling New York Rangers on Friday night. The Wild also beat the Islanders on Monday night and New Jersey on Thursday night.”Well, it obviously means getting six points, but we have never done that before,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. ”Anytime you do something you haven’t done before, it’s pretty cool.”The Rangers lost for the sixth straight time in regulation. New York is 6-17-0 since beating Buffalo in the Winter Classic on Jan. 1.”In my mind, we worked hard. We just weren’t able to make the plays that we needed to make to get something out of that James Neal Jersey Womens ,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said.Granlund opened the scoring for Minnesota at 16:06 of the first period after Staal intercepted a terrible breakout pass attempt by Rangers defenseman Anthony DeAngelo. Staal passed to Granlund, who easily put the puck past rookie netminder Alexandar Georgiev.Georgiev played his second NHL game after making his debut Thursday night in a 3-1 loss at Montreal.Staal made it 2-0 at 18:43. The goal was originally credited to Granlund but was changed to Staal late in the third period.The Rangers narrowed the deficit to 2-1 when Jesper Fast scored his ninth of the season at 2:41 of the second.Staal made it 3-1 for the visitors 52 seconds into the third period with a power-play goal – his team-leading 29th – of the season. Defenseman Ryan Suter and Granlund had assists.Eric Staal had a short stint with the Rangers two seasons ago, joining his brother Marc in New York but only recording only three goals in 20 games and none in the playoffs.”There’s always motivation every night,” Eric Staal said. ”You always want to prove yourself. Tonight was one of those nights we caught them with some great plays and we were fortunate to be able to capitalize.”Granlund, made it 4-1 at 9:22 of the third with his 17th goal of the season.”Obviously, it’s always nice to score,” said the 25-year-old Finnish forward who was drafted ninth overall by the Wild in 2010. ”It’s nice to get some offense going.”Minnesota is 6-1-2 in its last eight games. The Wild are in playoff position in a tight Central Division race.Rangers forward Rick Nash didn’t dress for the second straight game. The 33-year-old Nash, whose contract expires after this season, is expected to be traded by Monday’s deadline.He has 18 goals and 10 assists this season and is one point shy of 800 for his career. Nash scored against the Flyers in last Sunday’s 7-4 home loss. He was also a healthy scratch for Thursday’s loss at Montreal.The Rangers traded forward Michael Grabner – their leading goal scorer – to the Devils late Thursday after sending defenseman Nick Holden to the Boston Bruins earlier in the week.The Rangers are facing late-season games without playoff-race meaning for the first time since 2004 when they also made numerous deadline trades. They have only missed the playoffs once since 2005-06, in 2010 when the Rangers missed out on the last day of the season in a shootout loss at Philadephia.”We’re in a results-oriented business,” Vigneault added. ”The effort and preparation is there. We just have to stay with it.”NOTES: Forward Chris Kreider returned for the Rangers after missing 24 games with blood clot in right arm. Kreider last played Dec. 27 against Washington. … The Wild are 4-7-0 at Madison Square Garden … Minnesota scratched forward Chris Stewart and defensemen Jonas Brodin and Gustav Olofsson … The Rangers continued to be without injured defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk, Ryan McDonagh and Steven Kampfer.UP NEXT:Wild: Host San Jose on Sunday night.Rangers: Host Detroit on Sunday night.