The Vegas Golden Knights found their way back to the win column with a 3-2 victory against the Minnesota Wild Sunday afternoon at Xcel Energy Center.
It marked the 11th time this season that Vegas secured a come-from-behind win, and it was a solid bounceback effort following a sloppy showing in Edmonton.
The Wild jumped out to an early 1-0 lead just 90 seconds into the contest as star winger Kirill Kaprizov netted his first of the game. Mats Zuccarello won a battle down low and got the puck to Kaprizov in front, leaving Ilya Samsonov no chance.
Frederick Gaudreau got called for delay of game after closing his hand on the puck, setting up a Vegas power play midway through the opening frame. It took the Golden Knights just seven seconds as Victor Olofsson sent a perfectly-placed shot through the skates of the Minnesota defender and into the net.
It marked Olofsson’s third straight game with a goal, but he wasn’t finished.
The two clubs were tied at 1-1 going into the second period after a relatively evenly-matched opening 20 minutes, with Vegas holding a slight edge in shots (12-10) and a 30-16 advantage in shot attempts.
Once again, the Wild threatened to strike very early in the frame, but Samsonov made a huge stop on Gaudreau to keep things even. Unlike yesterday’s game in Edmonton, Vegas was able to prevent a blatant turnover from ending up in the back of the net.
Instead, the Golden Knights took advantage of a Minnesota mistake to take a 2-1 lead. Shea Theodore scored his fourth of the year after Mark Stone intercepted a pass and fed Jack Eichel in transition; Eichel picked up his second helper of the game when he found the trailing Theodore.
The ice tilted considerably as the period wore on, and the Wild began to take over. Though Samsonov made a key stop on Kaprizov, he wasn’t able to keep his fellow countryman from resetting the score. Kaprizov’s skill was on full display as he caught the puck in mid-air, placed it on his stick and then fired a laser past Samsonov with 3:04 remaining in the second.
The Golden Knights came close to taking a stunning lead in the final seconds of the period, but the two clubs remained tied at 2-2 after 40 minutes. Minnesota was the better team in the second, leading 10-5 in scoring chances and 6-1 in high-danger chances.
The Wild had another prime scoring chance at the start of the third, but Samsonov stood tall.
Then, just under four minutes in, the Golden Knights took their second lead of the game on Olofsson’s second of the afternoon; it proved to be the game-winner. William Karlsson set up Olofsson before going to the net, and Olofsson’s shot hit Gaudreau’s stick on its way into the cage. Pavel Dorofeyev recorded the secondary assist on the goal for his first point in seven games.
Vegas played well in the third, making strong breakout passes out of the zone and slowing down Minnesota’s forecheck as it pushed for the equalizer.
With the goalie pulled, Matt Boldy got hauled down by Nicolas Roy in the final minute of regulation, setting up the Wild’s first power play of the game — a 6-on-4 — with just 49.1 seconds.
It was a frantic finish, but the Golden Knights did enough to limit Minnesota’s access to the rebounds to hold on for the 3-2 win.
It was a good hockey game between two competitive teams, and neither showed many signs of playing in the second half of a back-to-back. The Golden Knights responded to the ugly win against Edmonton, never allowing the game to get away from them despite trailing 1-0 and surrendering a lead in the second period.
Vegas responded with a much better defensive effort, and Samsonov made timely saves. Vegas was disciplined, managed the puck well, capitalized on its chances and never looked overwhelmed or hesitant.
The end result afforded the Golden Knights two points in their 20th win of the season to finish the road trip at 2-1-0, with the two wins coming against the top two teams in the Western Conference.
Most of the game was played at 5-on-5, but Vegas came through on special teams, finishing 1-for-1 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.
Eichel added another two assists, making him the fastest player in franchise history to reach 200 points. He is now seventh in the league in scoring with 42 points.
Olofsson is playing extremely well, and his confidence is paying off as he continues to light the lamp since returning from injury. He, Eichel and Theodore all finished the contest with two points, and Samsonov made 20 saves on 22 shots for a .909 save percentage in his seventh win.
There is some concern regarding Ivan Barbashev, as he played just five minutes after getting tangled up with Marcus Foligno. Fortunately for Vegas, the Golden Knights have three days off before hosting Vancouver on Thursday.