The Wild thrived on home ice during the regular season, but the team's playoff debut at Xcel Energy Center was a different story.
Wild's fast start turns to ice-cold finish in 5-2 loss to Golden Knights in Game 3
After taking a two-goal lead in the first 8 1⁄2 minutes, the Wild's offense was done for the night and the defense was overwhelmed. 'We let them dictate,' center Ryan Hartman said.
May 21, 2021 at 10:56AM
After splitting the start of the first round in Vegas, the Wild returned to St. Paul and was playing its best hockey of the series before collapsing for a 5-2 loss Thursday night.
An announced crowd of 4,500 at watched the Golden Knights take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
"We gave them everything," center Ryan Hartman said. "We had no possession, no work ethic, no battle. We got away from our game, and we let them dictate."
Vegas scored three goals on 22 shots in a second-period master class on how to organize a comeback. The rally was led by Mark Stone (two goals) and Reilly Smith, who had the game-winner at 17 minutes, 33 seconds to go along with an assist.
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury needed to make only 14 saves as the Wild tied the franchise record for fewest shots in a playoff game with 16, which is a record low for home ice. The Wild also had 16 shots on May 8, 2003, in a Game 7 win at Vancouver.
"We know we have to score to win the games," center Joel Eriksson Ek said. "Just have to get to the front of the net and be around it and get those rebounds."
This slowdown came after the Wild dominated the first period.
Only 2:16 into the game, Hartman buried a seeing-eye pass from rookie Kirill Kaprizov. The assist was Kaprizov's first career playoff point.
The Wild scored again at 8:30 when Marcus Foligno knocked down a Matt Dumba point shot for Eriksson Ek to tuck behind Fleury for his second goal of the playoffs.
Eriksson Ek fired another puck behind Fleury at 12:52, but Vegas issued a coach's challenge and video review determined the Wild was offside on the play, erasing the goal and keeping the score 2-0.
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"It would have been a great goal for us to have," Eriksson Ek said.
Still, the team ended the period in control and received a standing ovation from the fans inside Xcel Energy Center as the players exited the ice at the intermission.
But the same team didn't return for the second period.
"Our first period was as good as it gets," coach Dean Evason said. "Their second was as good as it gets."
Vegas outplayed the Wild the entire period, at one point going on a 14-0 run in shots.
As for the Wild, it managed only five shots and put the Golden Knights on the power play two times. Even though Vegas didn't capitalize and went 0-for-5, Evason called the string of penalties the turning point.
"It took us out of rhythm, took us out of the hockey game," he said. "We got frustrated."
Stone converted at 8:39, taking a Chandler Stephenson pass and wiring it by goaltender Cam Talbot from the slot for Stone's first tally of the series.
At 15:19, the puck caromed off the end boards and in front for Patrick Brown to backhand by Talbot, who got a piece of the puck before it fell behind him.
And then Vegas moved ahead 3-2 when Smith put back his own rebound at the top of the crease. William Karlsson added a fourth goal with 2:24 remaining in the third for his second point of the game. Stone scored his second into an empty net with 59 seconds to go.
Earlier in the third, the Wild had a power play when it was still vying for the equalizer but didn't even register a shot and went 0-for-2. Talbot totaled 35 saves.
After Marcus Johansson was injured in the first period, the Wild juggled its lines but couldn't find a combination to deliver.
"You have to have a short memory," Talbot said. "Anytime you let something like that linger, it's going to carry over into the next game, and we don't have the luxury of easing our way into it."
The veteran forward was injured when hit with a shot during Thursday’s victory over Montreal.
