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The Minnesota Wild jumped the Vegas Golden Knights for three first-period goals and went on to win 5-2 Tuesday night, leveling the best-of-seven series at one game apiece with Game 3 in St. Paul Thursday night.
Let's dive into five things that stood out in the game.
1. Kirill Kaprizov: 2 goals, 1 assists, 2 punches to the mouth
Kaprizov not only scored Minnesota's fourth and fifth goals of the night, but he also was on the receiving end of back-to-back cheap shot punches from Vegas defenseman Nicolas Hague. No penalty was called.
Nothing to see here, apparently pic.twitter.com/838NVMXT5D
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) April 23, 2025
2. Adin Hill stonewalls early Wild flurry
After going five minutes to start the game without a shot, the Wild woke up and had three high-danger scoring chances, only to have the Vegas goalie stop them all. Hill was a brick wall when Ryan Hartman found himself alone on a rush. Then he made an incredible pad save when Joel Eriksson Ek appeared to have an opening. Eight seconds later he ripped the puck out of the air with his glove when Matt Boldy fired in the low slow.
Adin Hill shutting the door early! pic.twitter.com/BUEVGlTY0K
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 23, 2025
3. Kaprizov's amazing pass
You won't find a pass more impressive than Kaprizov's dime that sprung Boldy for a breakaway goal to give Minnesota 1-0 lead. Kaprizov lofted the puck at least 50 feet before it essentially landed on Boldy's stick to set up the goal.
this pass from Kaprizov to Boldy is ridiculous pic.twitter.com/umXX9OiUTx
— Shayna (@shaynagoldman_) April 23, 2025
4. Taking advantage of a bad Vegas turnover
Minnesota seized control when Vegas star defenseman Shea Theodore — he was partially responsible for the first four Wild goals — whiffed on a puck in the defensive zone and Marcus Johansson gathered the turnover and found Mats Zuccarello in space — and Zuccarello didn't miss for a 3-0 lead late in the first period.
doorbell camera said motion detected pic.twitter.com/Ei0Gphl5kx
— x - Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 23, 2025
5. Wild perfect when leading after two periods
Believe it or not, the Wild went 29-0-0 in the regular season when they held a lead after two periods. They were the only team in the NHL that didn't blow a game when leading after two, and the trend continued as they held a 4-1 lead after two in Game 2 and won to improve to 30-0-0 in that metric.
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Sabres' only hope for success is if Terry Pegula sells the team
Bad teams that are always bad tend to stay bad for a reason. You just have to pinpoint what that reason is. It usually starts at the top of the organization. That is the case for the once-proud Buffalo Sabres franchise, which has been completely sabotaged and turned into a league-wide laughing stock by the ownership of Terry Pegula. Sabres need an ownership change more than anything else The Sabres were humiliated on Friday afternoon, losing a 5-0 decision to the New Jersey Devils in front of a sellout crowd in Buffalo. That loss kept the Sabres at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, where they are the only team that does not have a points percentage of at least .500 or better. As the minutes ticked away in the third period, the Sabres fans who remained in the building started chanting for the team to fire general manager Kevyn Adams. It is probably a necessary change given how bad his general manager tenure has been and how far away the team remains from serious contention. The problem is that a general manager change will not matter, because the stink that occupies the Buffalo Sabres offices is coming entirely from the owner's chair. The chant from fans should be "sell the team." Pegula purchased the Sabres in February 2011 and watched as the team finished the season with 43 wins and made the Stanley Cup Playoffs, eventually losing in the first round to the Philadelphia Flyers. That was the last time the Sabres organization qualified for the playoffs. Their now 14-year playoff drought is the longest in the history of the NHL and is tied with the NFL's New York Jets for the longest active playoff drought in professional sports. That means that in every full season Pegula has owned the Sabres, his team has failed to qualify for the playoffs in a league where half of the teams qualify every year. Since the start of the 2011-12 season, every other team in the NHL has played in at least 14 playoff games, including the Seattle Kraken, who are only in their fifth year of existence as a franchise. If you exclude the Kraken, every other team in the NHL has played in at least 25 playoff games during this time period. The Sabres remain at zero. From a regular season standpoint, the Sabres' .454 points percentage since the start of the 2011-12 season is also last in the NHL. Notice the line below where Pegula purchased the Sabres? Notice what has happened since then? It is staggering. Pegula has had four different general managers during his watch. He has had eight different head coaches. The rosters have been built and rebuilt several times. They have had two No. 1 overall picks (defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power) and two No. 2 overall picks (Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel). None of it has mattered. Adding to the insult, several prominent players have left Buffalo and almost immediately won Stanley Cups with new teams, including Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights), Reinhart (Florida Panthers), Ryan O'Reilly (St. Louis Blues), Brandon Montour (Florida) and Kyle Okposo (Florida). It is a combination of a rotten culture, bad decision-making and hiring, and an ownership that does not even spend all the way to the salary cap. This is the second year in a row the Sabres have had more than $5 million in salary cap space despite having several needs all over the lineup and what should be a desperate desire to build a winning team for a fiercely loyal fan base. They deserve better than this and there is only one way for them to eventually get it. It is with anybody other than Terry Pegula continuing to own them.
Details emerge on Francisco Lindor's alleged incident with Mets teammate
Mr. Smile apparently wasn’t smiling too much about one of his teammates last season. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor had a "heated confrontation" with teammate Jeff McNeil last June, Mike Puma of the New York Post reported on Friday. Puma writes that Lindor began verbally attacking McNeil on June 20 over a defensive lapse that McNeil had during that day’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The confrontation, which was only verbal and never got physical, came in the midst of a seven-game losing streak by the Mets at the time. Puma also reports that the flashy Lindor clashed personalities during the year with the business-like Juan Soto during the season as well. Interestingly enough, the five-time All-Star Lindor also had a confrontation with McNeil in the dugout during a game in the 2021 MLB season. That confrontation did turn physical, and Lindor later offered an extremely unconvincing excuse for the incident. Meanwhile, the incident last June underscored the Mets’ struggles to get on the same page with one another during the 2025 campaign. Despite having a mammoth $342 million payroll, the Mets completely collapsed in the final weeks of the season and missed the playoffs altogether. Now there are rumors that the Mets could make some big changes this offseason, including a potential trade of McNeil. After another apparent confrontation between the veteran utilityman and the four-time Silver Slugger Award winner Lindor, it is clear that something is not quite working right now in that clubhouse.
Packers announce head-turning roster move one day after 2025 Lions sweep
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Kevin Durant has decided the next team he wants to join after Houston Rockets, claims ex-star
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