1. Rally the troops.
You just got the feeling that the Wild would score some goals at some point. Minnesota played well through 20 minutes despite falling behind 1-0 on a goal by Tomas Nosek 5 1/2 minutes in. The Wild followed that up with a solid second, but still couldn’t dent the scoreboard.
Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, despite keeping the Wild scoreless, was kicking out rebounds with regularity.
Video: MIN@VGK: Kaprizov puts home feed from Eriksson Ek
Sure enough, Minnesota got on the board 6:13 into the third period, taking advantage of a power play. It was, who else, but Kirill Kaprizov that scored the goal, sweeping the puck into an open net from the doorstep after a terrific feed from Joel Eriksson Ek through a number of skates.
Video: MIN@VGK: Eriksson Ek cleans up own rebound
Just 55 seconds later, Eriksson Ek was the beneficiary of one of those rebounds spit up by Fleury, banging home his own rebound in front of the netminder, giving Minnesota a lead for the first time in the game.
2. Cam Talbot was doing Cam Talbot things.
In the first period, the Wild goaltender made a couple more ridiculous saves, including one sliding, sprawling save to rob Shea Theadore on a 2-on-1 chance. The pass from Jonathan Marchessault was right into Theodore’s wheelhouse, and he mostly whiffed on the shot, but he had almost the entire net to shoot into.
Talbot slid over and actually made the stop with his right leg after the puck got under his left (front) pad.
Video: MIN@VGK: Talbot shuts the door on Theodore
A few minutes later, Talbot victimized poor Keegan Kolesar for a third time in two days, making a no-look blocker save on a play where Kolesar had virtually the entire net to shoot into.
Kolesar, of course, was stopped twice in a few seconds span on Thursday night, first with the glove, then with the blade of Talbot’s stick. This time, Kolesar misfired just a tad, firing into Talbot’s blocker with the goaltender looking the other direction.
Talbot’s saves kept the game at 1-0 Vegas, and allowed Minnesota to stay within a single shot … which ended up working out in the Wild’s favor late.
3. A winning road trip.
The Wild’s four-game road trip started inauspiciously, with an overtime loss and a regulation defeat in two games in San Jose.
That certainly could have been a recipe for trouble, with two games against an outstanding Golden Knights club on the docket.
But credit the Wild for bouncing back, overcoming some self-inflicted errors in an entertaining game to win 3-2 in a shootout on Thursday, before putting together a much better overall effort on Saturday.
The Wild will now head home for a couple games, beginning Monday night, with two against the West Division-leading Colorado Avalanche.
It should be a fun night. For the first time this season, 3,000 fans will be in the building and Minnesota will take an 11-game home winning streak into the game, standing just two points behind Vegas for second in the division standings.
The Wild will play six of its next eight at the friendly confines of Xcel Energy Center, as it attempts to solidify its spot in the postseason pecking order. With a 2-0 start to a crucial seven-game stretch against Vegas, Colorado and St. Louis, Minnesota is doing its part so far.