Minnesota Wild

Frederic Gaudreau and Kaprizov scored on the power play for the Wild, who went 0 for 6 with the man advantage in their 4-0 defeat in Game 1 and were 1 for 9 ...

They raised their record to 2-8 in home games in the four postseason series in franchise history they’ve had with home-ice advantage as the higher seed. … The Blues fell to 10-2-1 on the road since the trade deadline.MORE NEWS: A little later on that power play, Eriksson Ek’s redirect resulted in a rebound that Kaprizov tipped off the post. The Wild were exasperated by their special teams struggles in Game 1. Then, just 51 seconds into the second period, Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 4-0 lead. They lost defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to injury after he blocked a shot with the side of his face in the first. Bortuzzo left the ice immediately and did not return. The Wild beat their Central Division rival in regulation for only the third time in 16 games since the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019. In between Kaprizov’s scores, Eriksson Ek thought he had a hat trick himself. After Justin Faulk was called for high-sticking, Husso left a juicy rebound of Jonas Brodin’s slap shot out front that Gaudreau knocked in. He added an empty-netter with 7:08 left after Berube pulled Husso in a last-ditch effort.READ MORE: “As a teammate and a friend, it’s tough to see.

The Minnesota Wild put up six goals on Wednesday after being shut out in Game 1 of the best-of-7 first round playoff series with St. Louis.

With no home ice advantage the Wild are going to need their depth to step up and make the Blues question who they should be targeting. The Blues D-core on paper is not strong and with former Wild player Marco Scandella out and Nick Leddy down, t he opportunity is there for the Wild to take advantage. One win is just that, one win, and the Wild will need to put together three more in order to move on. But in St. Louis, the Wild need to be even better. While Ville Husso deserves some recognition for his performance in Game 1, the high-octane Wild lit him up on Wednesday and powered their way to a tie series. He made 32 saves, good for a 94.1 save percentage, with some of them coming at crucial moments in the game.

Kirill Kaprizov had a hat trick and Joel Eriksson Ek had two goals and an assist to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 6-2 victory over the visiting St. Louis ...

His last win was a 4-0 playoff-opening victory for the Calgary Flames over the Colorado Avalanche in 2019. Patrice Bergeron scored twice for the Bruins and Linus Ullmark stopped 29 of 33 shots. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night in Boston. It was also a milestone night for Eriksson Ek, who had only five points (three goals, two assists) in his 20 previous Stanley Cup playoff games. The best-of-seven series is tied 1-1. Kaprizov had only three points (two goals, one assist) in eight previous career playoff games.

The St. Louis Blues host the Minnesota Wild in game three of the first round of the NHL Playoffs with the series tied 1-1.

The Wild have committed 354 total penalties (4.3 per game) to rank third in NHL play. Kirill Kaprizov led the Wild with three goals. The Wild won 6-2 in the last meeting. BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Wild visit the St. Louis Blues for game three of the first round of the NHL Playoffs with the series tied 1-1. St. Louis Blues (49-22-11, third in the Central Division) Minnesota Wild (53-22-7, second in the Central Division) vs.

For me, the biggest storyline from Game 1 wasn't the 37-save shutout by Blues goaltender Ville Husso. It was the abysmal special-teams performance by Minnesota.

He has the trust of the coaching staff and his teammates. To me, evaluating Fleury’s performance in Game 2 was more about the eye test than the raw numbers. I’m not in the Wild locker room, but I get the sense that Foligno is a huge part of it. It’s a skill to be abrasive without spending large amounts of time in the penalty box. He battled in front for his first power-play goal; Kaprizov connected with Mats Zuccarello on the rush for his second of the night; And added an empty netter to finish it off. And especially the front of the net. But Kaprizov didn’t seem to be completely engaged, something I think stemmed from the amount of penalties in the game. He’s not a power forward in the bruising sense, but when Kaprizov is at his best, he’s a relentless puck hound that plays with speed. But it did happen twice against the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of last year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. The Wild have to be more disciplined. After dropping Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs on home ice to the St. Louis Blues, the Minnesota Wild needed a strong response. St. Louis has one of the best power plays in the NHL. Minnesota cannot continue to be shorthanded five or six times a game.

Left wing Kirill Kaprizov netted the first postseason hat trick in franchise history to lead the Minnesota Wild to a dominant win over the St. Louis Blues ...

Center Robert Thomas logged two assists for the Blues. He skated forward and laced a pass between two defenders to Kaprizov. The Wild winger received the feed between the circles and ripped a wrist shot past Blues net minder Ville Husso for a 5-2 lead. Kaprizov took control and skated toward the Blues blue line. Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury totaled 32 saves in the win. Eriksson Ek lit the lamp 9:33 into the first to spark a run of four unanswered scores to start the game. Right wing Vladimir Tarasenko added another Blues goal 4:14 into the third.