The end did not come without a fight for the Minnesota Wild. But it was an ending, nonetheless.

Facing elimination in Game 6 of their first-round series with Vegas, the Wild were unable to play with a lead — which was critical in these half-dozen games — and fell 3-2 on Thursday, with the Golden Knights claiming the series 4-2.

Vegas star forward Jack Eichel scored his first playoff goal at a critical time, snapping a second-period tie, as the Golden Knights won the final three games of the series to advance for past the first round for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2023. Mark Stone added an insurance goal for the Knights with just under four minutes left in regulation as they held off the Wild’s late charge.

Ryan Hartman scored both goals for Minnesota, which has lost its past three playoff series in six games after leading all of them 2-1. Filip Gustavsson had 20 saves for Minnesota, which last won a first-round playoff series in 2015.

While it followed a familiar pattern, this loss seemed to sting more than others. Hartman said this team fully expected to be playing next week and beyond.

“Um, the confidence we had in our group for a deep, deep run,” he said. “I think in years past, we had some pretty good teams. But this one, the things we went through, the way we stuck with things, yeah, this one feels like we could’ve gone deep.”

Adin Hill was the difference-maker as the Wild made a desperate third period push, as the Knights goalie had 29 saves in the win.

“It’s a little raw right now,” Wild coach John Hynes said. “I thought the games were very competitive, this series was very competitive. I thought our team worked enough and was playing well enough to be able to continue to push.”

The season-long story about penalty-kill struggles added another chapter before the game was five minutes old, when Marco Rossi drew a double minor for high sticking on his first shift of the game. Vegas used the man advantage to forge an early lead on Shea Theodore’s wrist shot from the blue line.

With 20 seconds left in the opening period, the Wild had the puck behind their own net and looked, briefly, like they might be content to run out the clock and get to the first intermission. Instead, they initiated one final rush up ice, which ended noisily, when Hartman sent a shot through a crowd, tying the game with 4 seconds left in the first.

It was the first goal of the playoffs for Hartman, who had four assists in the first five games, and, famously, had a potential game-winner taken away in Game 5 when replay showed the team entered the offensive zone offside.

“It was a big goal. Anytime you get a late goal, it’s huge,” Wild forward Marcus Foligno said. “I liked our second. I mean, we killed the penalty and they got a cute play.”

Minnesota made a strong push early in the second but could not take the lead, controlling the play for much of a two-minute man advantage without a breakthrough.

Instead, it was Vegas grabbing the momentum and the lead late in the period. Eichel, who had been held without a goal in the series’ first five games as the Knights’ top line struggled, got a breakaway after a lead pass from Stone that was just out of reach of Kirill Kaprizov’s desperate attempt to swat it away. Eichel’s low shot beat Gustavsson on the glove side.

But Minnesota refused to go quietly in the third, making push after push early in the period as Vegas seemed content to sit back, play defense and ice the puck when they could. Matt Boldy had a wide-open shot from the low slot only to have the puck poked away. A minute or so later, Hartman came in all alone after a set-up pass, but Hill made the save.

After Stone knocked a puck out of the air and past Gustavsson for a 3-1 lead, Hartman potted a tap-in from the side of the net just 21 seconds later to make it a one-goal game again. Hartman had a potential hat trick at his feet, but could not get a shot off following a rebound that was loose in the crease with 2:40 left.

The Wild sent Gustavsson to the bench with two minutes remaining.

After the final horn and the handshakes, there was a big ovation by both teams for Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who is retiring after a Hall of Fame career.

“I don’t know what he feeling. It’s probably so hard for him. It’s his last game,” Wild star Kirill Kaprizov said. “It was nice to play with him in my career, a little bit with him. A couple of seasons together and we can learn so much stuff from him. How we need to be working and to be better, you know? And same in life. Not just on the ice, outside the ice too. I don’t know what else to say. Unbelievable career. Won a couple Stanley Cups and one of the best goalies in the world all the time. It’s an amazing career.”

The Wild went with the same lineup as Game 5, most notable for the return of Gustavsson, after he exited the previous contest after 40 minutes in with an illness. There was some speculation of potential defensive changes following the coverage gaffe that led to the Knights’ overtime winner, but Hynes stuck with the status quo.

Vegas made a change at forward with Pavel Dorofeyev, their top goal scorer, missing from the lineup for the first time this season. He had played all 82 regular season games and the first five in the playoffs, but suffered an undisclosed injury late in Game 5.

Vegas, which won the Pacific Division, will host the winner of the first-round series between Los Angeles and Edmonton.