Wild pick up another point on a night of endless turnovers: 3 takeaways

By / / Sports / 6 minutes of reading


NEW YORK — In a battle between two teams fighting for their playoff lives, it was Turnover Night at Madison Square Garden.

In a game full of egregious, beyond-belief turnovers from both squads, it was the Rangers who made one less than the Wild in the end for a 5-4 overtime victory.

After Artemi Panarin left Marco Rossi in his dust, he set up Vincent Trocheck for the winner just 24 seconds into overtime.

The Wild — who killed three penalties, including a 24-second five-on-three, in the final 9:14 of the game — still climbed back into the seventh spot in the West. They’re tied with the St. Louis Blues with 89 points in 76 games but have three more regulation wins. They are now 1-3-2 in their last six games.

Marcus Johansson scored a goal and two assists, Gustav Nyquist and Brock Faber had a goal and assist apiece and Rossi scored once for the Wild.

After a crazy first two periods that saw some of the most baffling gaffes imaginable from both teams, K’Andre Miller’s turnover on the first shift of the third period due to Marcus Foligno’s pressure led to Rossi’s 23rd goal — and second in 18 games. Rossi, who turned a puck over late in the second period en route to the Rangers’ go-ahead goal, made amends for his earlier mishap by picking off Miller’s exit, hitting Matt Boldy at the back door and driving the net to bury Boldy’s rebound after he hit the crossbar.

The Wild close their three-game road trip Friday night on Long Island against the Islanders.

Wild their own worst enemy in the second period

After taking a lead into the second period after being outplayed in the first, the Wild gave up three goals in a wild second period to trail 4-3 heading into the third.

Filip Gustavsson, who looked to be fighting the puck early in the first but played himself into the game, gave up a goal to Miller when the defenseman shot from the wall over his right shoulder just inside the post.

But the go-ahead goal was egregious when oft-scratched Declan Chisholm, inserted into the lineup for Jon Merrill after a rough game in New Jersey, accidentally backhanded a puck right on net. Gustavsson saved Chisholm’s faux pas, but Chris Kreider potted the rebound for an unassisted go-ahead goal.

The Wild would tie the game at 3-3, however, when Trocheck was pressured by Nyquist in the neutral zone on a Rangers power play. For the second time, a Trocheck turnover led to a Wild goal, this time short-handed, when Johansson whizzed a shot from atop the circles off Nyquist’s setup.

The Wild thought they took a 4-3 lead when Johansson set up a Zuccarello goal. But the officials conferenced and waved off the goal because Ryan Hartman interfered with Igor Shesterkin. It was so blatant that John Hynes didn’t challenge.

The Wild pressured for most of the rest of the period but couldn’t take the lead or draw a penalty.

Finally, Artemi Panarin gave the Rangers a 4-3 lead with 64 seconds left on an unassisted breakaway after Miller seemingly got away with slashing Rossi’s hand for a turnover. Rossi compounded matters by trying to dive to get the puck. Instead, Panarin got a breakaway out of it.

Wild win first period for a change

The Wild may have been outshot 18-7 in the first period and gave up 11 of the first 12 shots, but they led after one period for the second time in 14 games.

After Trocheck’s turnover to Zuccarello on a Wild power play, the Wild got a two-on-zero down low and Johansson set up Nyquist’s first goal in 26 games (Jan. 25) and first goal in 16 games since his return to the Wild via trade.

Braden Schneider tied the score, but Faber gave the Wild their one-goal lead back after a great job by Freddy Gaudreau in the corner to get the puck, protect the puck and win the battle before getting the puck to Johansson before his pass up top for Faber. His shot deflected past Shesterkin off the stick of Gabe Perreault, who was making his NHL debut.

Kaprizov getting closer to return?

One-time Hart Trophy candidate Kirill Kaprizov, who hasn’t played since Jan. 26 and only three times since Christmas, has been cleared for contact.

Hynes said Wednesday morning that Kaprizov was examined by his New York surgeon Tuesday and got positive feedback and permission to go into the next phase of rehab by ramping it up by testing out contact.

Hynes says he doesn’t anticipate Kaprizov returning Sunday afternoon against the Dallas Stars. But as has been our conjecture for some time, with a full practice Tuesday, one wonders if we could see him play Wednesday night against the San Jose Sharks. That would allow him up to four games to play before the end of the regular season.

“Let me put it to you this way: The feedback he got, we got, was in a positive direction, so we’re hopeful that he’s going to be able to return before the end of the regular season,” Hynes said. “I don’t have a specific date on it yet.”

As for Joel Eriksson Ek, it sounds like despite him skating daily with Kaprizov, he could be kept out a little longer. For the first time, Hynes confirmed what The Athletic has reported since February, which is that he had a six-to-eight-week injury.

“Ekky had positive feedback,” Hynes said. “His time frame, he’s a little different because it wasn’t a surgical thing. So his time frame was what, six to eight weeks. This upcoming week will be week six. We’re hopeful that both players will be back. I just don’t have a for-sure to say they’re definitely going to be back. We’re hopeful that they are going to be. Everything’s trending that way. The date, I don’t want to say anything yet.”

As planned, Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek returned to the Twin Cities to continue skating with skills and skating coach Andy Ness and so they could be at TRIA Rink, which has all the rehab bells and whistles.

(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)





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