Every game feels like a must-win for the Minnesota Wild at this point of the season and they got two important points in a 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks Thursday night in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The winning goal was scored when Matt Boldy backhanded the puck into the net after Kirill Kaprizov’s shot was deflected just 18 seconds into the third period.
The win gives the Wild 79 points as they try to chase down the final wild card spot in the Western Conference playoff race, but they didn’t get any help from the two teams they’re chasing. Vegas, which holds the second wild card, won at Winnipeg 3-1 to get to 88 points and the Blues beat the Flames 5-3 to get to 82 points.
Regardless, the stage is set for a huge game Saturday afternoon in St. Paul between Minnesota and Vegas.
Joel Eriksson Ek put Minnesota up 1-0 with 3:59 left in the first period. It was his 30th goal of the season. The Sharks tied the game 1-1 on former Wild winger Mikael Granlund’s 11th goal of the season at 9:26 of the second period.
Ryan Hartman finished off the scoring with an empty-net goal with 54 seconds to go in the third period.
Up next: Wild vs. Vegas, 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday.
