The Minnesota Wild’s top line has left their fingerprints all over their first-round playoff series with the Golden Knights through two games.
Left wing Kirill Kaprizov has five points, while right wing Matt Boldy has four. The two, along with center Joel Eriksson Ek, drove the Wild’s offense in their 5-2 win in Game 2 at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.
The Knights’ top line, on the other hand, has yet to make a dent.
Center Jack Eichel, captain Mark Stone and left wing Ivan Barbashev don’t have a point through two games. Eichel has just two shots on goal.
The Knights need the group to step up when the series shifts to Xcel Energy Center for Game 3 at 6 p.m. Thursday.
The team’s top line was a huge reason why it won the Pacific Division for the fourth time in eight years and posted the third-best record in the NHL at 50-22-10.
Eichel set a franchise record with 94 points. Stone added 67 points in 66 games, while Barbashev scored 23 goals.
The Knights need their top players to produce this time of year. Especially when the Wild’s stars are shining on the other bench.
“They’re elite, world-class players. They gotta get going,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “To me, it’s a little bit of, the other team’s top guys are all over the sheet. It’s time. We’ve got to help them. We’re trying to help them.”
Quiet night
The Knights got off to a strong start in Game 2. They controlled play and fired the game’s first five shots.
Minnesota withstood the pressure and responded with a great play from its two top forwards. Kaprizov fired a perfect stretch pass to Boldy, who beat goaltender Adin Hill off the rush 9:56 into the first period.
The Wild later took a 4-0 lead 3:59 into the second period after Kaprizov finished off a 2-on-1 with Boldy.
“(Kaprizov and Boldy are) two really good players, but I think the mindset they’re playing the game with is really what’s important,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “I think they’re playing north-(south), direct (hockey). They’re highly competitive on the puck. That’s what makes those guys good.”
Eichel and Stone couldn’t match Kaprizov and Boldy’s output. Eichel didn’t have a shot on goal Tuesday, while Stone had one. Barbashev finished with three, but only after getting moved to the fourth line.
Eichel and Stone are both minus-2 at five-on-five so far this series. Every goal against they’ve been on the ice for has come from Kaprizov or Boldy.
It’s been a huge boost for the Wild to have its top line clicking in time for the playoffs. Kaprizov had 56 points in 41 games, but missed half the season with a lower-body injury. Eriksson Ek finished with 29 points in 46 games while dealing with various ailments. The two only rejoined Minnesota’s lineup April 9.
Boldy had to carry the Wild’s offense in their absence. He scored a career-high 73 points to help his team scratch and claw its way to the postseason.
“They’re just unpredictable,” defenseman Noah Hanifin said of the Wild’s stars. “They’re creative and make a lot of east-west plays. Something we’ve got to be better at. We’ve got to be harder on them.”
What can they do?
Cassidy said one thing that could get his top guys going is power-play touches, but those may be hard to come by this series.
The Knights took 197 penalties this season, the fewest in NHL history in an 82-game campaign. They also drew the fewest in the league (219).
Minnesota wasn’t far off. The Wild took the 10th-fewest penalties in the NHL (257) and drew the fifth-fewest (259).
It’s no surprise, then, that only four penalties have been called through two games. The Knights didn’t get a power play in Game 2, while Minnesota received one.
That means Eichel’s line may have to right itself at five-on-five. Cassidy said the group needs to get through the neutral zone faster and establish more offensive-zone time.
He also said it’s early in the series and it can be easy to overreact to two games. Thursday is important, though. The winner of Game 3 when a best-of-seven series is tied 1-1 has gone on to advance 66.1 percent of the time.
“That’s what they’re going to have to deal with,” Cassidy said. “That’s playoff hockey. They’ve been through that before.”
Contact Danny Webster at [email protected]. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Golden Knights at Wild (series tied 1-1)
What: Game 3, first round
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn.
TV: KMCC-34
Radio: KKGK (1340 AM/98.9 FM)
Line: Knights -140; total 5 1/2
Series schedule
(Series tied 1-1)
All games on KMCC-34 and KKGK (1340 AM, 98.9 FM)
■ Game 1: Golden Knights 4, Wild 2
■ Game 2: Wild 5, Golden Knights 2
■ Game 3: 6 p.m. Thursday at Xcel Energy Center
■ Game 4: 1 p.m. Saturday at Xcel Energy Center
■ Game 5: TBD April 29 at T-Mobile Arena
■ *Game 6: TBD May 1 at Xcel Energy Center
■ *Game 7: TBD May 3 at T-Mobile Arena
*if necessary
