LAS VEGAS _ Ten seconds.
That's how close the Minnesota Wild was to setting up a winner-take-all third period with the Vegas Golden Knights on the road, an encouraging situation considering the circumstances.
Not only was the Wild still without captain Mikko Koivu, defenseman Jared Spurgeon and center Joel Eriksson Ek, but winger Jason Zucker was also missing _ out with a lower-body injury, making this the stiffest challenge the Wild had faced since this recent rash of injuries began to test its depth.
But instead of hanging on to close out the second period and give itself a chance to, once again, overcome adversity, the Wild's grip slipped and Vegas pulled ahead _ putting the Wild in chase mode and it ultimately couldn't catch up, falling 3-2 Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena to suffer back-to-back regulation losses for the first time since Oct. 29-30.
The result, the Wild's first loss in Vegas after debuting 3-0, also dropped the team to 0-2 on a three-game road trip that concludes Thursday in Arizona against the Coyotes.
Shea Theodore walked into the right faceoff circle and wired a shot through traffic and over goalie Alex Stalock's glove at 19 minutes, 50 seconds of the second, this after he accepted a pass from Mark Stone once Stone intercepted a clearing attempt by Wild defenseman Ryan Suter.
While there was still ample time to rally, the goal was a stinger; Vegas was 14-1-1 when leading after two periods, and chasing the tying goal isn't the same as competing for the go-ahead one.
At 6:16 of the third, Vegas tacked on an insurance marker _ a rising shot by Tomas Nosek that turned into the game-winner after winger Zach Parise scored at 18:45 with goalie Alex Stalock pulled for an extra attacker. The goal was Parise's team-leading 14th.
Other than that, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was unbeatable in the third, making eight of his 24 stops in the final frame. Stalock pocketed 26 saves for the Wild.
One of those saves by Fleury came on center Eric Staal, whose slapper was gobbled up after he got a jump in the Vegas zone. Shortly before that, defenseman Matt Dumba had a shot go through Fleury's legs and wide of a yawning net.
The Wild also had a look on the power play, but it blanked to finish 1-for-5; the Golden Knights were 0-for-1.
That power play goal by the Wild came in the final minute of the first period, at 19:20, when the Wild was on a 5-on-3 advantage.
Staal fed a cross-crease pass to winger Mats Zuccarello, and he buried the puck behind Fleury. Dumba also earned an assist on the play, his first point in 15 games.
A Wild lead after the first period was impressive since the Golden Knights overwhelmed it for stretches, skating at a pace that looked too quick for the Wild.
But the team did its best to keep up, holding off Vegas until 11:22 of the second when Chandler Stephenson polished off a 2-on-1 rush with Stone.
After that, tensions started to flare.
Earlier in the period, Deryk Engelland cross-checked Staal from behind while Staal was down on the ice. When he finally got up, Staal skated off gingerly and appeared to be clutching his left arm.
But after getting evaluated on the bench, Staal returned and exchanged words with Engelland before others interfered.
