Wild found production, confidence to carry into Game 7 against Vegas

Cam Talbot hasn't been scored on in 4½ periods.

Kevin Fiala is coming off a timely breakout in which he was the ringleader of the Wild's offense.

And the defense has locked down the Wild's zone and hidden the key.

After sinking into a 3-1 hole in a best-of-seven series with the Golden Knights, the Wild hasn't just stormed back to even the series and summoned a Game 7 on Friday at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas.

The team reached this winner-­moves-on showdown by surging with a style that suits its strengths.

"We're excited," center Joel Eriksson Ek said. "We're not done yet."

Not only has the Wild snatched the momentum in the series with its recent upswing, but a trip down memory lane points to past Game 7 success.

This is the third time in the Wild's history it has forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-1, and the team advanced both previous times: In the first round against Colorado in 2003 and then again in Round 2 vs. Vancouver. The Wild remains the only team in NHL history to overcome a 3-1 deficit twice in the same playoffs.

Overall, the Wild is 3-0 in Game 7s, with all those victories coming on the road.

As for the Golden Knights, they're in the familiar position of fending off a rally.

For the third consecutive season in its four-year existence, Vegas is entering a Game 7 after being up 3-1 in the series. The Golden Knights are actually the last NHL team to blow a 3-1 lead, getting ousted by San Jose from the first round in 2019 during overtime in Game 7. Last year, they held off Vancouver 3-0 in Game 7 in the bubble playoffs to make it to the Western Conference finals, where Vegas lost to Dallas 4-1.

Regardless, though, if these track records favor the Wild over the Golden Knights, history might not apply to a Wild lineup that all year long hit the reset button after every game and shrugged its shoulders at what it couldn't control.

"Every team is unique, every season, every team," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "You have your identity, and this group's obviously got great character, great leadership, great buy-in from everybody. So, stats are stats. They're in the past."

Talbot has blanked Vegas twice in the series and while he was superb during a 1-0 overtime victory in Game 1, his 23 saves Wednesday for a 3-0 takedown in Game 6 might have been even more impressive considering what was at stake.

Neither team flinched through two periods, teeing up one mistake to determine the outcome, and the miscue didn't come from Talbot.

"He's calm back there," center Ryan Hartman said of Talbot, who has a .937 save percentage, 2.01 goals-against average and NHL-best two shutouts in the playoffs.

"He makes saves look easy, and he gets over for the hard ones as well. We love having him back there for confidence."

In front of Talbot, the Wild has infiltrated a Golden Knights net that at one time looked inaccessible behind goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Since getting shut out 4-0 in Game 4, the Wild has had all four lines contribute but a long-awaited boost came in Game 6. That's when Fiala delivered, putting the game-winner from Hartman in motion and then securing his first goal of the series.

Winger Nick Bjugstad closed the third-period outbreak with his first goal of these playoffs.

"I have a lot of confidence in my group," Fiala said.

That production was accompanied by a stingy effort when the Wild didn't have the puck.

Aside from blocking a game-high 18 shots, the Wild dished out 25 hits — a physical tone that seemed to help the team keep the Golden Knights in check in the second period when Vegas usually dominates, as it did in Game 5 when amassing an eye-popping 22 shots.

"Finally, a second period was the way we wanted to play," winger Marcus Foligno said. "Our best one yet in the series so far."

Combine that attentiveness with clutch scoring and Talbot's poise, and the Wild didn't just survive. The team thrived.

"We liked our overall game," Evason said. "No question about that."

Because of that, the Wild is rolling instead of limping into Game 7.

Just getting to the stage might be enough to spark the team after how the series turned on the Wild after the opener.

But with how the team is playing, any swagger it might have is well-earned.

"We were happy obviously with [Wednesday] night, but it wasn't like we were celebrating anything," Evason said. "We know that there's still a job to be done. We have Game 7 now and an opportunity, and we're looking forward to that."