A real net-knocker-offer: Maple Leafs squeak past Wild 4-3

Coach Dean Evason felt the Wild didn't get enough pucks through to the net, but there was still plenty of action in the Maple Leafs crease.

On three separate occasions, the Toronto net came off its moorings after goaltender Matt Murray bumped the post.

All three incidents happened while the Wild had the puck in tight and the last occurred not long after they sunk into a two-goal hole, the interruptions a source of frustration vocalized by Evason after the team's rally fizzled 4-3 to the Leafs during a Friday matinee in front of 18,997 at Xcel Energy Center to end its win streak at two games.

"You can't knock the net off three times and not get anything out of it," Evason said. "It doesn't make any sense."

After the third stoppage, which led to repair work by the ice crew, the Wild cut their deficit in half and still had a chance at the equalizer when the puck landed on Kirill Kaprizov's stick in the waning seconds. But Murray thwarted the one-timer from the right side, picking up his 25th stop on Kaprizov's ninth shot, which tied his career high.

"Kirill 99.9% of the time scores that goal, hits it hard," Evason said. "[Murray] makes a great save."

When the Toronto net wasn't being reinstalled, the Wild were mostly playing catch up.

They trailed early, getting behind 3 minutes, 42 seconds into the first period when Mitch Marner extended his point streak to 15 games on a seeing-eye shot.

Kaprizov responded at 12:01 on the power play with his team-leading 12th goal, pushing his point streak to eight games to tie his career high and become the first player in Wild history with three such runs. The power play finished 1-for-2, while the Leafs went 0-for-3.

But Toronto answered back 42 seconds later when Zach Aston-Reese flung a Wild turnover five-hole on Marc-Andre Fleury, who returned after missing three games with an upper-body injury. Fleury racked up 24 saves.

"That second goal is on me," he said. "It's definitely a stupid goal."

Only 2:38 into the second period, the Wild pulled even again after Matt Boldy one-timed an Alex Goligoski pass for his second goal in as many games following an eight-game dry spell.

But the Wild could never find the go-ahead goal.

That always belonged to the Leafs.

With 9:56 to go in the second, Calle Jarnkrok polished off the rebound from a Goligoski block before William Nylander's blocker-side shot 13:23 into the third period turned into the game-winner after Mats Zuccarello scored with 3:34 left and Fleury on the bench for an extra attacker.

"That's kind of what that team can do," Goligoski said. "They don't need many chances to put some numbers up. Couple bounces, too. I think there's a lot of the game that we liked and just a couple of breakdowns, and they got guys rolling into the slot and they made us pay."

Still, in a game decided by one play, the what-ifs for the Wild were hard to ignore.

As Calen Addison drove to the net in the second period, Murray's right side knocked the net ajar before the puck went wide.

Then in the third, Ryan Reaves — making his Wild debut after Wednesday's trade from the Rangers — had the puck near the goal line when Murray's right arm nudged the post. Later, the net shook after a post-to-post save from Murray with Joel Eriksson Ek in front.

"I don't think the last one was intentional," Fleury said. "The second one, you could clearly see when it comes in, he pushes it."

Murray told TSN: "I don't know what was going on there. I use the net to push off all the time and, for whatever reason, tonight it just came off a little bit easier."

Play was whistled down in each situation, and Murray was never penalized. But the Wild were certainly affected.

"We have offensive time in there and sustained time," Evason said. "We could get more opportunities, and all of a sudden it stalled out and momentum's gone. I don't understand it. I don't. It's hard to ask [the referees]. You don't want to yell at the refs all the time.

"But it didn't make any sense how a goaltender could knock it off three times, and there's no repercussion."