ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Jonas Brodin scored with 1:06 left, 26 seconds after Kirill Kaprizov had tied the game to help the Minnesota Wild beat the Las Vegas Golden Knights 6-5 on Monday night.
Nick Bonino added two goals and an assist, while Joel Eriksson Ek and Kevin Fiala also scored for Minnesota, which trailed by two goals twice in the game. Cam Talbot stopped 27 shots for the Wild, who have beat West-leading Las Vegas five times in the seven matchups this season.
Mark Stone had a goal and assist. Shea Theodore, Alec Martinez, Alex Tuch, and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for the Golden Knights. Robin Lehner made 26 saves in goal.
The two teams finish a two-game set Wednesday in Minnesota.
Monday was a particularly chippy game between two teams who could possibly meet in the playoffs. Las Vegas started the day first in the West with 74 points, four ahead of the Colorado Avalanche. Minnesota was third in the division with 68 points, two behind Colorado.
Fiala started the comeback and three-goal third period with his 20th goal of the season. Kaprizov, who is earning a reputation for clutch plays in his rookie season, scored his 24th and Brodin flipped a puck from the blue line that found it’s way past Lehner’s right shoulder.
Eriksson Ek’s goal just 3:36 was an early sign of a dizzying game between the two teams who have already clinched playoff berths. There were three goals scored 7:48 and five total in the first period.
Stone scored for the ninth time in 11 games in the second. Marchessault’s goal was his fifth in five games.
Bonino added his second goal between Stone and Marchessault’s tallies for his first multi-goal game of the year.
leading goal scorer with 24, was scratched with an undisclosed injury. POn Saturday, Pacioretty didn’t play in the third period or overtime of the Golden Knights’ win at Arizona; Pacioretty has missed three games all season.
Nicolas Roy (undisclosed) was back in the lineup for Las Vegas after missing three games.
GETTING KNIGHTED
To help fill in for Pacioretty, Peyton Krebs made his NHL debut. Krebs was the 17th overall pick in the 2019 draft by the Golden Knights. The 20-year-old earned his first NHL point with an assist on Tuch’s goal in the first. Krebs started this season with Winnipeg of the Western Hockey League before making his pro debut with the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League. He had one goal and four assists in five games with Henderson.
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