In Las Vegas on Tuesday night, Kirill Kaprizov`s two goals and an assist powered the Minnesota Wild to a 5-2 victory over a turnover-plagued Vegas Golden Knights team. This win evens their first-round playoff series at one game each.
Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Thursday night in St. Paul, Minnesota.
This marked Minnesota`s initial win against the Golden Knights this season, including the playoffs. Vegas had previously swept all three regular-season matchups and secured a 4-2 win in Game 1 on Sunday.
Prior to Tuesday, the Wild hadn`t won a game in regulation since March 27 against Washington. Conversely, the Golden Knights hadn`t lost in regulation since April 3 against Winnipeg.
Matt Boldy continued his strong play, scoring his third goal in two games and adding an assist for the Wild. Marcus Foligno and Mats Zuccarello also found the net. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson was solid, making 29 saves. Kaprizov`s performance gives him a total of two goals and three assists through the first two games of the series.
For the Golden Knights, Noah Hanifin and Tomas Hertl scored, while Adin Hill stopped 12 shots in net.
Vegas started strong, registering the first five shots, but Gustavsson turned them all aside. Minnesota then took control, netting three goals in the opening period. Two of these goals resulted from Vegas turnovers, and the third came from a puck battle won by Ryan Hartman.
Another miscue by the Golden Knights, specifically a giveaway by Shea Theodore, allowed Kaprizov to extend Minnesota`s lead to 4-0 just under four minutes into the second frame.
Vegas mounted a significant push thereafter, largely dominating the latter part of the game, scoring twice and outshooting the Wild 22-5 in that span. The Golden Knights will look to carry this momentum into Game 3 as the series moves to Minnesota, and the late-game physicality suggests the series could become contentious.
Multiple altercations occurred with 4:38 remaining, although the officials chose not to issue any penalties.
Kaprizov sealed the win with an empty-net goal from roughly 200 feet out with 2:26 left on the clock, eliminating any chance of a Golden Knights comeback.
