The Vegas Golden Knights’ recurring second-period struggles resurfaced Friday night at T-Mobile Arena, resulting in a 4-2 defeat to the Minnesota Wild that further complicates their playoff push.

After a scoreless first period in which the Knights generated three breakaways without converting, the Wild struck three times in a span of 3:22 during the second frame. Mats Zuccarello ignited the outburst, and the visitors carried a 3-0 lead into the third period.

“You can’t let the game slip away in those four minutes,” center Jack Eichel said. “They’re a good team. They’re going to get their chances. You can’t let one trickle into three.”

Vegas mounted a third-period rally. Pavel Dorofeyev scored early, and Mitch Marner added another to cut the deficit to 3-2, but Minnesota’s Michael McCarron sealed the win with an empty-net goal.

The Knights’ fourth line, assembled just Thursday, provided a bright spot. Nic Dowd made a solid debut, and Cole Smith contributed speed and forechecking. Colton Sissons generated two breakaways in the first period.

“We were willing to dump it in, forecheck, go get pucks and create chances off our cycle,” Eichel said. “We had chances. We had some chances to capitalize, but at the end of the day, didn’t do enough to find the back of the net.”

Defensive breakdowns plagued the blue line. Noah Hanifin committed three giveaways, including one that led to Zuccarello’s goal. Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb also had costly turnovers. Rasmus Andersson finished minus-2; coach Bruce Cassidy noted he could have done better on the third Wild goal.

“It’s a lot of the same, right?” Cassidy said. “We got behind. We had a bad stretch. We should be better than that. We’re a veteran group.”

The Knights have gone 5-9-2 since acquiring Andersson. With 19 games remaining, they face a grueling schedule that offers little practice time.