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LAS VEGAS – The Wild didn t win Game 1 until overtime, when Joel Eriksson Ek scored early in the extra session, but the team could have lost the game in the first period.
Vegas had the early edge, outshooting the Wild 19-5, and although the Wild survived the onslaught, the team is eyeing a better debut in Game 2 on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena when it has the chance to go up 2-0 in the best-of-seven, first-round series.
Road teams that go up 2-0 are 80-20 all-time in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Wild hasn t won a Game 2 since April 11, 2008, vs. Colorado.
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An enjoyable result but funky process.
That s how Wild coach Dean Evason reflected on the 6-5 come-from-behind thriller the Wild orchestrated Monday night at Xcel Energy Center, stunning the Golden Knights with two goals in 26 seconds in the final minutes of the third period to snatch away victory.
In the rematch on Wednesday, Evason would like to see a tighter showing from the Wild. I know we do not want to get into a track meet, back and forth, he said That s not the way we play the game. We ve got some correcting and have done some correcting. Hopefully, we can play a more sound hockey game.
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Two losses last week weren t the only reason why the Wild hasn t been able to climb out of third place in the West Division.
The teams the Wild is chasing have been winning lately to stay ahead, especially the Golden Knights, but the Wild can slow down that momentum Monday when it hosts first-place Vegas at Xcel Energy Center. They re a good team, coach Dean Evason said. We think we re a good team. They play the game hard. They play right, no different than the team we just played. It could go either way most nights.
Cam Talbot will be back in net for the Wild after backing up Kaapo Kahkonen on Saturday when the Wild rallied for a 4-3 overtime win against the Blues. Talbot is 2-1-1 this season vs. Vegas, and one of those wins was one of his best performances of the season – a 35-save effort in a 3-2 shootout win on April 1.
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ST. LOUIS – The Wild and Blues are about to get extremely familiar with each other.
Not only is Friday s matchup at Enterprise Center the start of a back-to-back and three in a row overall, but the game is the first of seven head-to-head battles the rest of the season.
St. Louis trails the third-place Wild by 10 points in the West Division, sitting fifth. We were able to come out on top [last game], coach Dean Evason said, referring to the 2-0 win at Xcel Energy Center on March 25 in which the Wild was outshot 37-11. But they had the majority of the play. They shot the puck all the time. We have to keep them out of our zone. Our forecheck early and often has to be there to keep them out, obviously, of our end.
Zach Parise is returning after going into the NHL s COVID protocols on March 24 and ultimately sitting out seven games, and Mats Zuccarello is also back after missing the last two games with a lower-body injury. I m excited to play again, Parise said. I ve said it before, it s never overly enjoyable to sit and watch your team play and watch your teammates and not be able to travel with them. I m looking forward to playing again.
Nick Bjugstad will not suit up for the Wild. He s out with an upper-body injury after leaving Monday s 5-4 loss to Colorado in the third period following a fight with Kyle Burroughs.