In St Paul, Pavel Dorofeyev hit for his second goal of the game late in the third period to get the Vegas Golden Knights even with the Minnesota Wild at 3-3.
That was enough to get the teams to extra time, which solved nothing.
Reilly Smith hit for the deciding goal on penalties for a 4-3 win to Vegas, Smith was returning from an upper-body injury.
“A little rusty,” Smith said “Timing’s a little off, but it was nice to play an extra five minutes (in overtime) and try to get the rust off that way. Guys I played with all the time, they’re so good at being able to communicate and help me out, and I think that went a long way tonight.”
Despite the loss, the Wild clinched a playoff berth. The ticket was punched when the Dallas Stars defeated the Nashville Predators on Monday.
“We’re going to play every game to get two points,” Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. “That’s what we’re going to do. We’re not focused on getting higher in the standings. We’re focused on getting two points. We’re going to talk about trying to stay as healthy as we possibly can when we get into the playoffs.”
Laurent Brossoit made 30 saves in the Vegas win.
The Golden Knights improved to 48-22-7, and are closing out the season on a streak of 10-2-1.
“We weren’t at our best. We know that,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “First period was fine, we were OK. Then in the second, we got loose with some net-front stuff. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to win some of those games with your B game so to speak. We were able to do it, so good for us.”
Keegan Kolesar scored midway through the first period to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
Brandon Duhaime and John Klingberg replied for the Wild in the middle frame to give them a 2-1 advantage.
The Wild dropped to44-23-10.
“We played a [heck] of a hockey game,” Evason said. “Listen, that’s our first step, right? The way we played tonight as opposed to the other night (a 4-1 loss in Vegas on Saturday), we were so happy with the way we played. Five-on-five, we were as good as we’ve been and we make a mistake at the end 5-on-6.
“We liked the way we came back from that game and played a real strong hockey game.”
Dorofeyev’s first of the night tied the game, 2-2, in the second.
“I just try to keep feeding him the puck because it seems like he’s got a lot of confidence right now,” Smith said. “He’s putting it in the back of the net. As a linemate of his, you just got to keep feeding him and giving him opportunities. I was pretty shocked that he missed a couple games, but it’s great to see him jump back in and really not lose a beat.”
Matt Boldy sent the game to the third period with the Wild ahead, 3-2, on his goal with 41 seconds left in the period.
“It’s just going in, I guess,” said Boldy. “I’m playing with great linemates (Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson).”
Filip Gustavsson made 23 saves in the Minnesota loss.
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