Wild spreads the trust around during late-game rally to beat Penguins

The Wild was down one goal with 17 seconds left in the third period, and the team ushered some of its best offensive players to the bench.

Kirill Kaprizov. Kevin Fiala. Joel Eriksson Ek.

That unit, along with Frederick Gaudreau, captain Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin, had been in action for almost a minute in a 6-on-5 setup vying for the game-tying goal Saturday night at Pittsburgh. Instead of giving them another crack — with an offensive-zone faceoff coming up — the Wild tabbed a different combination.

And the decision panned out.

"To put another group on the ice, that shows our players that we're trusting everybody on the team, and we did," coach Dean Evason said. "That's not why we did it. We did it because they're fresh and we trust that they're going to hopefully get the job done. It worked out well."

With three seconds remaining, Ryan Hartman scored to help author another jaw-dropping comeback — this one a 5-4 shootout win against the Penguins.

Only three players in Wild history have delivered a game-tying goal with less time on the clock: Mikko Koivu at 59:59 (Oct. 7, 2017), Matt Dumba at 59:58 (Jan. 16, 2021) and Dany Heatley also at 59:58 (Oct. 20, 2011).

That Hartman was on the ice wasn't exactly a shocker; same with Marcus Foligno. Both are among the Wild's top scorers so far this season.

Dumba and Alex Goligoski on the blue line also made sense considering their offensive instincts, and Nico Sturm's hustle made him a solid pick, too.

But the player who put the play in motion might have been the most surprising selection.

Rookie winger Adam Beckman fished the puck out from behind the net and passed to Dumba, whose shot bounced off traffic in front and caromed right to Hartman for the decisive shot.

The goal resulted in Beckman's first NHL point, an assist, and he reinforced the reason he was on the ice — because of his playmaking skills.

"[Beckman] obviously knows how to score and produce," Hartman said. "He's smart with the puck. He was engaged in the battle there and was able to pull it out of the pile."

Despite that memorable contribution on Saturday, Beckman was sent back to Iowa in the American Hockey League on Sunday, along with center Connor Dewar.

The Wild activated Mats Zuccarello and Rem Pitlick from the NHL's COVID protocols, and both players returned to the lineup against the Islanders after testing positive on Oct. 27 and missing the next four games.

"You career doesn't stop because you leave the NHL," Evason said. "Yeah, you're disappointed. They should be mad because they both played really well. But right at this point in time we don't have the room for them, or they haven't outplayed somebody that's here."

The team made two other lineup changes, starting goalie Kaapo Kahkonen and playing Victor Rask for the first time in four games; Kyle Rau and Jordie Benn were scratched.

"We want him to bring the urgency in his game because he's got a skill set that's above a lot of people," Evason said of Rask. "But if he brings that intensity level every single shift, no matter if you play four shifts or you play 40 shifts, you have to have that same intensity level and that's what we've asked of him."

Kaprizov accomplished an NHL first on Saturday: A shootout goal.

Not only did Kaprizov extend the 1-on-1 showdown to a fourth round by scoring on his attempt, paving the way for Nick Bjugstad's game-deciding finish, but Kaprizov's shot was smooth — a slight wrist flick that sent the puck floating over Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry.

"It takes a lot of courage to do that when you need a goal, to do a little play like that," Hartman said. "But that's Kirill. He's got all that skill."

The Wild recognized Zach Parise during the first period, showing highlights on the video board from his nine seasons with the team.

Parise received a standing ovation and waved to the crowd.

This was Parise's first game vs. the Wild and at Xcel Energy Center since the team bought out his contract in July. He went on to sign a one-year deal with the Islanders.