The Minnesota Wild hosted the Nashville Predators to wrap up their six-game homestand on Tuesday, November 4. The Wild’s injury list remained the same, with Zach Bogosian, Nico Sturm and Mats Zuccarello out. However, Zuccarello is getting closer to a return to the lineup, but an exact date remains unclear. The Predators were without Cole Smith, Adam Wilsby and Roman Josi.
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Both the Wild and Predators were coming off games against the Vancouver Canucks. The Wild earned a 5-2 win on Saturday, November 1, while the Predators lost 5-4 in overtime in the first half of a back-to-back with the second half against the Wild on Monday night, November 3. Filip Gustavsson was in net for the Wild, while Justus Annunen was in net for the Predators, just as Juuse Saros had been in net the night before.
The Wild got things going and the Predators fought back, but the Wild kept the lead into the third period. The Predators tied the game with 0.03 seconds left and forced overtime. The Wild came out with the 3-2 win, and this moved the Wild’s record to 5-6-3 and the Predators to 5-6-4.
Summary of the game
The Wild got things going with a power-play goal from Kirill Kaprizov that gave his team a 1-0 lead. Jared Spurgeon and Vladimir Tarasenko assisted him. There were some close calls for both sides, including a few posts for the Predators throughout the rest of the period. However, that was the only goal and the Wild took the lead in the second.
The Predators responded in the second period with a goal from Matthew Wood to tie the game at 1-1. Michael McCarron and Tyson Jost assisted him. The Wild answered with their second power play goal of the game late in the period. It was scored by Zeev Buium, who was assisted by Brock Faber and Marcus Johansson, to make the score 2-1 in favor of the Wild. Those were the only goals of the middle period, and the Wild took the lead in the third.
Once again there were a number of close calls for both teams in the third, including the Wild being blocked on several empty net opportunities, but the Predators tied the game with 0.03 seconds left in regulation. The goal was scored by Steven Stamkos and he was assisted by Nick Blankenburg. That goal forced overtime, with the Wild taking the win after the net was knocked off its moorings, and Marcus Johansson kept playing and shot where the net should have been. They awarded the goal and the Wild took the 3-2 victory. Kaprizov and Faber registered the assists.
After a long homestand, the Wild hit the road for a quick back-to-back out East. They will take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday evening, November 6, and the New York Islanders on Friday, November 7. The Predators return home to host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
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