The Wild is still in must-win territory to save its season, but now the Golden Knights are too.
Despite falling behind three games to one and getting outplayed for stretches of the first round, the Wild clawed back to equilibrium and forced a winner-take-all Game 7 against Vegas after prevailing 3-0 on Wednesday night in front of Xcel Energy Center to keep its season alive.
This is the third time in the Wild's history that it has initiated a Game 7 after trailing 3-1. In both instances, the Wild completed the series comeback — in 2003 against Colorado in the first round and then again in the second round vs. Vancouver to advance to its only appearance in the Western Conference finals.
Puck drop for Game 7 is 8 p.m. on Friday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Wild goalie Cam Talbot stopped 23 shots for his second shutout in the series, and Ryan Hartman snapped a scoreless struggle 4 minutes, 21 seconds into the third period when he buried a 2-on-1 pass from winger Kevin Fiala into the back of the net. The goal was Hartman's second of these playoffs, while Fiala picked up his first point of the series.
Later in the third, at 8:55, Chandler Stephenson appeared to tie the game on a shot through traffic but the goal was waved off due to goaltender interference since Alex Tuch was planted in the crease.
Vegas issued a coach's challenge, but video review confirmed no goal, swinging the score back to 1-0.
Because of the unsuccessful challenge, the Wild received a power play and the unit finally delivered after going 0-for-8. Fiala scored his first of the playoffs on a five-hole wrist shot on goalie Marc-Andre Fleury at 9:35, sealing his third career multi-point game in the playoffs. The Golden Knights went 0-for-1 on the power play.
Nick Bjugstad added a third goal on a backhander with 4:43 to go, becoming the sixth Minnesota-born player to record a playoff goal with the Wild.
Fleury totaled 21 saves. Talbot's shutout was the sixth of his playoff career.
The first period began evenly, a mostly clean start for both teams that didn't present much offensively at either end.
Center Victor Rask actually had the two best looks of the period, and both chances were created by rookie Kirill Kaprizoz. Kaprizov had a between-the-leg drop pass to Rask, whose shot was stopped by Fleury. And then late in the first, Kaprizov went for a headman pass that Rask skated into but again Fleury blocked the attempt.
Vegas has had the edge in the second period all series long, outscoring the Wild 8-1 in the first five games and hurling a mindboggling 22 shots at the Wild's net in Game 5, but the Wild kept pace this time and the action stayed scoreless for another 20 minutes.
The intensity of the ice started to spike after winger Marcus Foligno checked the Golden Knights' Zach Whitecloud into the boards, a hit that knocked loose a pan of glass that had to be repaired.
Not long after that, defenseman Matt Dumba checked former Wild winger Alex Tuch as Tuch gathered a pass to get out of the Vegas zone. Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez ended up fighting Dumba in the aftermath, with Dumba raising his arms to the crowd as he skated to the penalty box, igniting a robust cheer inside Xcel Energy Center. Both players were tagged with a fight-minute major for fighting, as the Wild continued to set a physical tone against a Golden Knights lineup playing without two of their tougher players in Ryan Reaves and Brayden McNabb.
That set up another make-or-break period, and this time the Wild finally gained separation from the Golden Knights.
