A return to Grand Casino Arena, a three-day break and big nights from key players were just what the Minnesota Wild needed to get back into their Western Conference Second Round series against the Colorado Avalanche.
Kirill Kaprizov and Brock Faber each had a goal and two assists, while Quinn Hughes added a goal and an assist to power the Wild to a 5-1 victory over the Avalanche on Saturday night in Game 3 of their best-of-7 series. Minnesota bounced back with a solid defensive effort after allowing 14 goals while losing the first two games in Denver. The Wild won a second-round game at home for the first time since May 9, 2014. They handed Colorado its first loss in seven games this postseason and can even the series with a win Monday night.
Wild coach John Hynes went back to rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt, who was replaced by Filip Gustavsson for Game 2 after allowing eight goals in a 9-6 series-opening loss. He justified Hynes’ decision by making 34 saves, allowing only Nathan MacKinnon’s second-period power-play goal. Wallstedt played the way he did in Minnesota’s first-round series victory against the Dallas Stars and gave Minnesota a solid night between the pipes.
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He also got plenty of help. In addition to Kaprizov, Faber and Hughes, Ryan Hartman and Matt Boldy scored for the Wild, Mats Zuccarello chipped in with two assists.
Neither team mounted any consistent attack through the first 15 minutes. Colorado’s Parker Kelly had the best chance near the 11-minute mark, but Wallstedt denied his backhander at the right post.
However, things opened up after matching roughing penalties to Kelly and Hartman at 14:54 left each team skating down a man.
Kaprizov took advantage of the open space to put the Wild up 1-0 at 15:11. He grabbed a pass from Faber and raced down the middle of the Colorado zone, deked Wedgewood to the ice and lifted the puck over him.
Hughes, who had the second assist on Kaprizov’s goal, made it 2-0 at 16:44 with a 4-on-3 power-play goal. With Devon Toews off for hooking, Hughes controlled a pass at the left point, worked his way to the high slot and fired. Wedgewood had lost his stick, had Kaprizov screening him and was defenseless as the shot whizzed past him.
Hughes was called for a needless cross-checking penalty at 17:42. But the Wild killed the penalty without much trouble and ended the period with their first two-goal lead of the series.
Minnesota’s power play struck again at 4:23 of the second period to make it 3-0. Zuccarello’s shot hit Toews on the way to the net; Hartman got a piece of the airborne puck and deflected it into the net.
That was the end of the night for Wedgewood, who came into the game 6-0 with a 2.12 goals-against average and .923 save percentage. Mackenzie Blackwood, who hadn’t played at all through Colorado’s first seven games, replaced him.
MacKinnon got the Avs on the board at 13:11. Wallstedt made a save after Gabriel Landeskog took the puck to the net, but Wild defenseman Daemon Hunt plowed into him and the two men flattened Wallstedt. That left the puck sitting just outside the crease; MacKinnon popped it home for the 60th playoff goal of his career.
But before Wild fans had a chance to fret, Faber restored Minnesota’s three-goal lead at 13:31. During a delayed penalty, Blackwood stopped Vladimir Tarasenko’s shot from near the left face-off dot. But the rebound hit him, bounced off Faber and slid over the goal line for a 4-1 lead.
Wallstedt stopped all 13 shots he faced in the third period. Boldy’s 155-foot empty-netter with four seconds left iced the win.
Key Takeaways from Minnesota’s 5-1 win over Colorado in Game 3
Big night for Kaprizov
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“Kirill The Thrill” lived up to his nickname in Game 3.
The NHL’s soon-to-be highest-paid player was named the game’s First Star on a night that he seemed to be everywhere. His compete level was off the charts, he went into the corners, got to the front of the net to screen Wedgewood on Hughes’ goal, blocked two shots and finished plus-3.
“He was going tonight,” Faber told TNT’s postgame show. “When he’s swiveling those hips, that’s when he’s playing fast. He’s one of the best players in the league and one of the hardest workers. He was at his best tonight.”
Wallstedt reclaims the net
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When you’re down 2-0 in a series against the NHL’s regular-season champion, your goaltender has to come through. That’s exactly what Wallstedt did in Game 3, refusing to let the Avs’ Game 1 deluge of goals and the benching in a 5-2 loss in Game 2 bother him.
The first-period save on Kelly might have been the biggest stop of the night. The game was scoreless when Wallstedt stopped his wide-open backhander and managed to keep the rebound out of the net. Instead, the Wild weren’t playing from behind; less that six minutes later they were up 2-0.
Barring an injury, it’s hard to imagine Hynes changing goaltenders again.
Wild power play finally delivers
Minnesota was 0-for-5 with the extra man in the two losses in Denver and was 1-for-15 in its previous five games before cashing in twice on Saturday.
The Wild can’t afford a non-productive power play when they’re facing the NHL’s top regular-season team. Even with the two PPGs in Game 3, Minnesota is just 5-for-33 (15.1 percent) with the extra man. But the lift the Wild got by cashing in on its first two opportunities was palpable. By turning a 1-0 lead into a three-goal advantage, Minnesota also made Colorado chase the game — something that hadn’t happened this postseason.
Stat Shots
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Kaprizov’s three-point night gives him 14 points, the most among all NHL players so far this postseason. Hughes is tied with Mitch Marner of the Vegas Golden Knights for second with 13.
Kaprizov extended his personal point streak against Colorado to 16 games (regular-season and playoffs).
Faber (plus-12) and Kaprizov (plus-11) are 1-2 in the League in plus-minus through Saturday.
Zuccarello has nine points (three goals, six assists) in six games this postseason. He missed three with injuries but has at least one point in every game he’s played.
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