The Wild were leading their last two first-round playoff series 2-1, in 2022 against St. Louis and 2023 against Dallas. Something they didn’t do in either series was win Game 4, and they wound up losing both in six games.

Up 2-1 on Vegas, Minnesota has a chance to change that narrative on Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.

“We were up 2-1 the last two playoff series we were in,” Wild forward Matt Boldy said following the team’s optional skate on Friday afternoon at TRIA Rink. “It doesn’t matter. It’s that time of year where every goal, every play, every puck matters.”

So with Game 4 looming as a pivot point between a massive 3-1 advantage in the series and a 2-2 tie which would hand the home ice advantage back to the Golden Knights, here are a quartet of keys that will likely matter on Saturday afternoon in St. Paul.

1) Stay healthy

After a regular season defined by injuries — most notably the losses of Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek for what amounted to nearly a full campaign of man-games — the Wild have been healthy for almost ⅔ games in the playoffs. A hard hit on second line winger Marcus Johansson on Thursday kept him off the ice for much of the third period, and head coach John Hynes didn’t have an update on Friday.

“I would say questionable right now,” Hynes said. “We’ve just had some initial talks on (how we’d respond) because I’m not sure that he is going to be out. So, I’ll wait until we get a little bit more feedback from the trainers here.”

Johansson has been a key player on a penalty kill that has been very good in the playoffs after a regular season filled with struggles. Replacement options include Liam Ohgren and Devin Shore.

2) Gus the guardian

With the Wild leading 2-0 in the first period on Thursday, Filip Gustavsson allowed a regrettable that he regretted and let the Knights grab back some momentum. After that, he was spectacular, finishing with 30 saves in a 5-2 victory.

“I was a little mad at myself after that first period, but I got it back and the guys helped out by scoring early and having the momentum and riding that wave throughout the game,” he said. “You can say ‘I’m pretty stupid’ and stuff like that first, and then it’s not going to help, mourning about it. Now it’s just next shot, and the next shot came down and I got it in the stomach there and never looked back.”

Gustavsson has been vital, while Vegas made an in-game goalie change on Thursday. Riding a hot goalie is the surest route to Round 2 for either team.

3) Feed off the energy

Gustavsson said he was blown away by the Game 2 crowd in St. Paul.

“It’s very fun. You know, you can’t hear anything,” Gustavsson said. “They’re screaming there at the end of the game and the puck comes down and you have no clue what the D’s going to do. Usually we talk to each other, and you hear nothing — just screaming from the crowd.

“It was a big difference from going to Vegas. I didn’t think that building was as loud as I expected it to be and then you come here and you can’t hear anything, so it’s very fun.”

Saturday will be the first time in this series that the third period will end before most Minnesotans’ bedtime, and a spring day in the State of Hockey should mean plenty of home crowd energy once again.

4) Keep Vegas reeling

After winning the Pacific Division with a deep team that can roll four lines without much drop-off, the Golden Knights were a popular pick among the wagering crowd to hoist the Stanley Cup for the second time in three years.

Trailing by a goal in the second period Thursday night, the Knights pushed and pushed and pushed, and it looked as if a tie game was imminent. Instead, Gustavsson kept them off the board long enough for Boldy to make it 3-1 on a massive hustle play, and Kirill Kaprizov scored a power-play goal with 1.3 seconds left in the period to make it 4-1.

“We’re going into the room as a team and it’s like, ‘We’re down 4-1 after that period? What the hell just happened?’” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “But that’s hockey some nights. We’ve got to re-group and create (our) own breaks. They did and took advantage of them.”

The Wild haven’t won a first-round playoff series since 2015. Taking a 3-1 series lead back to the desert would go a long way toward changing that.

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By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing an executive order that a labor union says would cancel collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees.

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U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled that a key part of President Donald Trump’s March 27 order can’t be enforced at roughly three dozen agencies and departments where employees are represented by the National Treasury Employees Union.

The union, which represents nearly 160,000 federal government employees workers, sued to challenge Trump’s order. The union said it would lose more than half of its revenue and over two-thirds of its membership if the judge denied its request for a preliminary injunction.

Friedman said he would issue an opinion in several days to explain his two-page order. The ruling isn’t the final word in the lawsuit. He gave the attorneys until May 2 to submit a proposal for how the case should proceed.

Some agencies, including the FBI, are exempt from a law requiring federal agencies to bargain with labor organizations over employment matters. Presidents can apply the exemption to agencies that have a “primary function” of performing intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative or national security work.

But no president before Trump tried to use the national security exemption to exclude an entire cabinet-level agency from the law’s requirements, according to the employees’ union. It said Trump’s order is designed to facilitate mass firings and exact “political vengeance” against federal unions opposed to his agenda.

“The President’s use of the Statute’s narrow national security exemption to undo the bulk of the Statute’s coverage is plainly at odds with Congress’s expressed intent,” union attorneys wrote.

Government lawyers argued that the court order requested by the union would interfere with the president’s duty to ensure federal workers are prepared to help protect national security.

“It is vital that agencies with a primary purpose of national security are responsive and accountable to the American people.” Justice Department attorneys wrote.

The IRS is the largest bargaining unit represented by the National Treasury Employees Union. A day after Trump signed his order, the administration sued a union chapter in Kentucky to seek a ruling that it can terminate the collective bargaining agreement for the IRS.

The union says the administration has “effectively conceded” that its members don’t do national security work. The union members affected by the executive order also include employees of the Health and Human Services Department, the Energy Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Communications Commission.

The union said it will lose approximately $25 million in dues revenue over the next year. Some agencies, it says, already have stopped deducting union dues from employees’ pay.

“In the absence of preliminary injunctive relief, NTEU may no longer be able to exist in a manner that is meaningful to the federal workers for whom it fights,” union lawyers wrote.

Government attorneys argued that the courts typically defer to the president’s judgment on national security matters.

“Executive actions that are facially valid — that is, within the lawful authority of the executive — are entitled to a presumption of regularity,” they wrote.

A week after one quarterback left, the Gophers football program added another experienced QB through the NCAA transfer portal.

Emmett Morehead, a transfer from Boston College and Old Dominion, committed to the U on Friday afternoon. He steps in after Zach Pryon left for South Alabama.

Morehead did not play for Old Dominion last year but will bring experience to Minnesota from his time at B.C. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound signal caller from Woodside, Calif., appears to have one year of eligibility remaining for Minnesota.

The bulk of Morehead’s experience came in 2022, when he completed 60% of his passes (115 for 192) for 1,254 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He started the final four games of that season, with three strong games and one tough one.

In games against Duke, N.C. State and Syracuse, he completed at least 27 passes and accumulated for more than 250 yards, with 2-4 touchdowns in each game. Against No. 18 Notre Dame in the snow, however, he went 9 for 22 for 117 yards, zero TDs and three INTs.

In 2021, he played in two games (6 for 16 and 87 yards) and then four games in 2023 (15 for 30, 124 yards).

Redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey is the Gophers’ presumptive starter for 2025, with Max Shikenjanski and Dylan Wittke serving as primary backups in spring practices. The U also has true freshman Jackson Kollock on the roster.

Minnesota has added three other players via the portal: cornerback John Nestor (Iowa), defensive tackle Mo Onamode (Purdue) and running back Johann Cardenas (Vanderbilt).

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By HOLLY RAMER

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Nineteen states that refused to comply with a Trump administration directive aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools went a step further Friday, filing a federal lawsuit challenging what they consider an illegal threat to cut federal funding.

The lawsuit filed in Massachusetts by Democratic attorneys general seeks to block the Department of Education from withholding money based on its April 3 directive ordering states to certify their compliance with civil rights laws, including the rejection of what the federal government calls “illegal DEI practices.” States also were told to gather signatures from local school systems certifying their compliance by April 24.

Instead, the plaintiffs informed the government that they stand by their prior certifications of compliance with the law but refuse to abandon policies that promote equal access to education.

“Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are legal efforts that help students feel safe, supported and respected. The Trump administration’s threats to withhold critical education funding due to the use of these initiatives are not only unlawful, but harmful to our children, families, and schools,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell.

The new lawsuit comes a day after judges in three states ruled against the Trump administration in separate but related cases.

A Maryland judge postponed the effective date of a Feb. 14 memo in which the education department told schools and colleges they needed to end any practice that differentiates people based on their race. A judge in Washington, D.C., granted a preliminary injunction against the April certification letter. And in New Hampshire, a judge ruled that the department can not enforce either document against the plaintiffs in that case, which includes one of the nation’s largest teachers’ unions.

All three lawsuits argue that the guidance limits academic freedom and is so vague that it leaves schools and educators in limbo about what they may do, such as whether voluntary student groups for minority students are still allowed.

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The new lawsuit accuses the administration of imperiling more than $13.8 billion, including money used to serve students with disabilities.

“Plaintiffs are left with an impossible choice: either certify compliance with an ambiguous and unconstitutional federal directive — threatening to chill polices, programs and speech – or risk losing indispensable funds that serve their most vulnerable student populations,” the lawsuit states.

In addition to Campbell, the plaintiffs are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The education department did not respond to a request for comment Friday. President Donald Trump’s education secretary, Linda McMahon, has warned of potential funding cuts if states do not return the certification forms.

In a Tuesday interview on the Fox Business Network, McMahon said that states that refuse to sign could “risk some defunding in their districts.” The purpose of the form is “to make sure there’s no discrimination that’s happening in any of the schools,” she said.