Game 7 Gamethread: Wild at Golden Knights (8 p.m.)

Here we are, Wilderness... a place we didn’t think we’d see after Games 3 and 4, and maybe even after Game 5. A place where the Wild have had historical success but fans might still be biting their nails or watching the game through the fingers in front of worried faces. A place where the momentum of Game 6 could spur the Wild to a strong start, or be dragged to a halt with a single mistake or another questionable call by the referees.

Welcome, Wilderness, to Game 7. There’s nothing like it in sports.

Expect the same lines and lineup for the Minnesota Wild as they had in Game 6.

The Vegas Golden Knights are another story.

Ryan Reeves (COVID) skated by himself this afternoon while awaiting additional COVID tests to prove that he might have had a false positive, and head coach Peter DeBoer is optimistic that he’ll be in tonight.

DeBoer was also feeling good about getting Brayden McNabb back from the COVID protocol, but he was not seen on the ice.

No additional word on Max Pacioretty or Tomas Nosek - neither player has practiced with the team in over a week.

As for the Vegas netminder, though there was some speculation DeBoer might go with Robin Lehner after two poor games by Marc-Andre Fleury, it was Flower who left the ice first during morning skate.

Two teams enter the fortress, one team leaves to board a flight for Denver. It all starts a little after 8 p.m. Central.

Game 7, baby. The Wild are 3-0 in the most extreme of elimination challenges.

Let’s get it on!

Minnesota Wild at Vegas Golden Knights

First round: Game 7

When: 8:00 p.m. CT

Where: T-Mobile Arena

TV: BSN/NBCSN

Radio: KFAN 100.3 FM