Ivan Barbashev scored late in the first overtime as the Vegas Golden Knights rallied for a 4-3 win to forge a 2-all tie in their best-of-seven series with the Minnesota Wild on Saturday afternoon.
Taking advantage of two misplays by the Wild defense near their net, Barbashev shoveled in a loose puck. The Knights trailed by a goal in the final period, but scored three of the game’s final four goals to recapture home-ice advantage as the series heads back to Nevada.
The loss negated a 43-save effort by Minnesota goalie Filip Gustavsson, as the Wild got goals from Marco Rossi, Marcus Foligno and Jared Spurgeon but fell just short of a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history.
Adin Hill had 29 saves for the Knights, who had lost the previous two games after a win in the series opener.
Minnesota had killed a quartet of penalties in the Game 3 win, but Vegas got an early man advantage on Saturday and struck first when defenseman Shea Theodore sent a long-range shot through a mess of bodies in front of Gustavsson. It was some much-needed good news for Theodore, who had struggled defensively in the first three games of the series.
The Wild pulled even when Rossi got his second goal of the series in a notably similar fashion as his first of the series — getting a pass from behind the net and popping in a quick shot from the top of the crease. The Knights had a notable advantage in shots in the opening period but not a lead on the scoreboard.
Foligno’s third goal of the series, early in the middle frame, gave the Wild the lead when he popped in the rebound after Hill stopped a Ryan Hartman shot from the hashmarks. With the assist, Hartman became the second player in Wild franchise history to record a helper in each of the first four games of a playoff series.
Leading 2-1 early in the third, Wild rookie defenseman Zeev Buium took his first NHL penalty, and it was a big one. His high stick to the face of Vegas top-liner Mark Stone drew blood, and a double minor.
The Wild managed to kill all but eight seconds of the 4-minute penalty, but Nicolas Roy tied the game after Gustavsson made a pair of saves, but the Wild could not clear the loose puck. The goal came a few minutes after Roy had delivered a punch to the face of Wild defenseman Jake Middleton, with no penalty called, which did not sit well with the home crowd in Minnesota.
The boos got even louder when Vegas took the lead near the midway point of the third on a fluky deflection when Stone banked a puck off Tomas Hertl in front of the net. But the Wild answered less than a minute later on Spurgeon’s wraparound, with Kaprizov causing trouble at the net front. Yakov Trenin had a breakaway for Minnesota on the next shift, but Hill denied the backhander that was aiming for the goalie’s five-hole.
Minnesota had a power play in overtime after Joel Eriksson Ek drove hard to the crease and was flattened by Roy, who was called for holding on the play. The Wild tested Hill on the man advantage but could not break through.
Wild winger Marcus Johansson, who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 3, was scratched from the Game 4 lineup. Vinnie Hinostroza took Johansson’s place, playing wing on the third line. It was the ninth career playoff game for Hinostroza, who was claimed off waivers by the Wild in early February. He previously played in the postseason for Chicago and Arizona.
Game 5 will be played on Tuesday evening at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The start time is expected to be announced by the NHL on Sunday.
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