Kirill Kaprizov scores, pushes back against Golden Knights in Wild's overtime loss

The offense is expected, especially the third-period variety of late.

But what's also becoming a staple of rookie Kirill Kaprizov's game is his grittiness, a willingness to stand up for himself after the opponent agitates him.

And both elements were part of Kaprizov's repertoire in a 3-2 overtime loss for the Wild to the Golden Knights on Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center.

"He gets ticked off, and it's awesome to see that coming from a superstar," winger Marcus Foligno said. "He elevates everyone. That's the type of player he is. He's skilled, but he's hungry. Since Day 1, even training camp, that's what he's been like. It's so great to see that. It rubs off on everyone, and that can only make everyone around him better."

Kaprizov supplied the scoring for the Wild, burying a pair of goals in 2 minutes, 10 seconds in the third period, but before that he was in the middle of a fracas that sparked a line brawl.

After he was from behind into the boards by the Golden Knights' Nicolas Hague, Kaprizov joined the tussle that broke out – getting tied up with Zach Whitecloud after Foligno and Jordan Greenway approached Hague.

And this wasn't the first time this season Kaprizov has pushed back.

"He's strong, and he can definitely stand up for himself," center Ryan Hartman said. "But ideally we'd like to be doing that for him. We got guys in here who can stand up for him, and he can focus on scoring goals."

Kaprizov did just that in the third, putting in motion the fourth straight third-period comeback for the Wild.

The team also erased deficits Monday (6-5 win over Vegas), this past Saturday (4-3 overtime win over St. Louis) and last Thursday (5-4 overtime loss to St. Louis).

"It'd be nice to have a lead and come into the third period with a lead," Hartman said. "But as easy as it may be to just say that, they're trying to beat us as well and it is a full 60-minute game."

Kevin Fiala didn't play for the Wild, sitting out with a lower-body injury that coach Dean Evason said isn't serious. The team's next game is Friday when it begins a back-to-back against the Ducks to close out its home schedule for the regular season.

And not only did the win grow Vegas' lead atop the West Division, with the Golden Knights now four up on No.2 Colorado and five ahead of the No.3 Wild, but Marc-Andre Fleury moved into sole possession of third on the NHL's all-time wins list for goalies – surpassing Roberto Luongo with the 490th victory of his career.

"I didn't think I was going to reach Roberto," Fleury said, "and I'm pretty honored to have a chance to play enough and play on such a great team that allowed me to catch him."