By Canadian Press

Kaprizov scores 2 power-play goals to help the Wild beat Vegas 5-2 for a 2-1 series lead

Apr 24, 2025 | 10:47 PM

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov had two power-play goals and the Minnesota Wild beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

Matt Boldy scored for the third straight game, Marco Rossi had his first career postseason goal and Marcus Foligno added an empty-netter for the Wild, who carried the momentum of a 5-2 road victory in Game 2 into the raucous Xcel Energy Center and kept it up all night.

Boldy and Kaprizov share the NHL playoffs lead with four goals. They’ve combined for 13 points, further flashing the prowess of the Wild’s first line. Including center Joel Eriksson Ek, their top three forwards combined for 17 shots on goal.

Nobody on the first line for the Golden Knights — Ivan Barbashev, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone — has yet to even record a point.

Game 4 is in Minnesota on Saturday. Seeking to win their first postseason series in 10 years, the Wild are halfway there against the Pacific Division champion Golden Knights.

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Filip Gustavsson’s glove stayed sharp in the net on a 30-save night for the Wild, who took an early 2-0 lead before Alex Pietrangelo scored on a long slap shot a little later in the first period for Vegas. Reilly Smith’s short-handed goal with 8:26 remaining was the only other puck that got past Gustavsson, who said afterward the crowd was so loud in the closing minutes the players couldn’t hear each other on the ice.

The fans were roaring from the start, when a too-many-men penalty on Vegas gave the home team the man advantage just 2:46 into the game.

Kaprizov cycled behind the net, came up top and — after a slight fake to his left to make Smith pause for a split-second — wristed a shot through the defense for the lead. Wild rookie Zeev Buium got the first assist for his first career postseason point.

With just two seconds left in the second period on another power play for Minnesota, Ryan Hartman’s shot hit Kaprizov in the chest before knocking it past goalie Adin Hill for a 4-1 lead.

Hill was pulled after two periods with 17 saves, yielding to Akira Shmid for the third. Hill, who stopped only 12 shots in Game 2, didn’t have the best protection in front of him.

Boldy scored to give the Wild a 3-1 lead midway through the second period after outworking Noah Hanifin for the puck behind the net, slicing toward the net and snapping a shot into the top corner past Hill.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Dave Campbell, The Associated Press