The Minnesota Wild hosted the Nashville Predators to finish out their six-game homestand on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The Wild’s injury list remained the same, with Zach Bogosian, Nico Sturm, and Mats Zuccarello out. However, Zuccarello continues to get closer to returning to the lineup, but it remains unclear on an exact date. The Predators were without Cole Smith, Adam Wilsby, and Roman Josi.
Related: Keys to the Minnesota Wild Continuing to Win Games
Both the Wild and Predators were coming off games against the Vancouver Canucks. The Wild got a 5-2 victory on Saturday, Nov. 1, while the Predators fell 5-4 in overtime on Monday evening, Nov. 3, in the first half of a back-to-back with the second half against the Wild. Filip Gustavsson was in the net for the Wild, while Justus Annunen was in the net for the Predators, as Juuse Saros had been in the net the night prior.
The Wild got things started, and the Predators fought back, but the Wild held the lead into the third period. The Predators tied the game with .03 seconds remaining 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.
Game Recap
The Wild got things started with a power play goal by Kirill Kaprizov that gave his team the 1-0 lead. Jared Spurgeon and Vladimir Tarasenko assisted him. There were some close calls for both sides, including a couple of posts for the Predators throughout the rest of the period. However, that was the only goal, and the Wild took the lead into the second.
The Predators responded in the second period with a goal from Matthew Wood to tie the game 1-1. Michael McCarron and Tyson Jost assisted him. The Wild answered late in the period with their second power-play goal of the game. It was scored by Zeev Buium, who was assisted by Brock Faber and Marcus Johansson, to make it 2-1 in favor of the Wild. Those were the only goals of the middle period, and the Wild took the lead into the third.
Again, in the third, there were some close calls for both teams, including the Wild being blocked at several empty net chances, but the Predators tied the game with .03 seconds left to go in regulation. The goal was scored by Steven Stamkos, and he was assisted by Nick Blankenburg. That goal forced overtime, where the Wild took the win after the net was knocked off its moorings, and Marcus Johansson kept playing and shot where the net should’ve been. They awarded the goal, and the Wild took the 3-2 win. Kaprizov and Faber registered the assists.
After having a lengthy homestand, the Wild will head on the road for a quick back-to-back out east. They’ll face the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night, Nov. 6, and then the New York Islanders on Friday, Nov. 7. The Predators will head back home to host the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.
