Nick Holden wore a big smile on his face and a T-shirt with the cartoon character Goofy. He and fellow Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez cracked each other up throughout Friday's video news conference, having fun during an obligation that can be drudgery for some athletes.
"I would like to give a shout out to this guy," Martinez said. "He said it was fun last night. I think it's only fitting that he's wearing his Disney Goofy shirt right now in a press conference. Nice."
Such is life for the Golden Knights after their 5-2 victory over the Wild on Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center gave them a 2-1 lead in the West Division first-round playoff series.
Winning, of course, lightens the mood, and Holden was taking full advantage.
Playing in his first game since April 9, Holden drew into the Vegas lineup as third-pair defenseman and made his coach, Peter DeBoer, look like a genius. Holden, who played only 17 games in the regular season, assisted on Patrick Brown's tying goal and Reilly Smith's winner as the Golden Knights rallied from two goals down to beat the Wild.
"I have to say it was fun," Holden said. "Coaches and training staff have done a good job of making sure that I was ready physically. I'm comfortable with my game, so being able to get in, it was just fun to be able to be back out there and competing."
Sensing fatigue in regular third-pair blue-liner Nicolas Hague, DeBoer opted for Holden on Thursday. Throughout the season, Holden, 34, was a salary cap casualty, being placed on waivers and sitting in favor of Hague because Hague carried a smaller cap hit.
"We haven't been able to put him in even when there's been opportunity for him," DeBoer said. "Veteran guy, understood it, kept working, never complained. I wanted to get him in. We're going to need seven or eight defensemen."
