The Minnesota Wild arrived late to Wednesday’s matchup with the New Jersey Devils after the team bus ran into a closure at the Holland Tunnel. Despite a 30-minute delay, it turned out that the game was on the Wild’s time as they picked up a 3-2 shootout victory.
According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, the Wild didn’t arrive to the Prudential Center until 6:26 p.m. (ET), just over half an hour before the scheduled puck drop. But the Wild were ready to hit the ice, getting off to a fast start with two first-period goals.
CAPS LOCK IS OUT OF TRAFFIC!! pic.twitter.com/1Q28ZE04zp
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) November 25, 2021
Ryan Hartman got Minnesota on the board by deflecting Dmitry Kulikov’s shot for his 10th goal of the season and the Wild doubled up on their first shorthanded goal of the season courtesy of Nico Sturm.
Nico with the shorty! #mnwild pic.twitter.com/DOVOHS3i7w
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) November 25, 2021
Armed with a two-goal cushion, Cam Talbot made sure the early advantage held up, stopping 40 shots on the night to keep the Wild on top.
What a save by Talbot! #mnwild pic.twitter.com/Z3MyUq7Ft3
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) November 25, 2021
But the Devils finally cracked Talbot in the third period when Pavel Zacha scored to make it a one-goal game. Although the Wild killed a 5-on-3 opportunity, the Yegor Sharangovich tied the game with 1:07 left in regulation to eventually send the game into a shootout.
Both sides came up empty in the first round of the shootout before Kevin Fiala scored in the second round. With a chance to win the game, Talbot stoned Sharangovich in the third round to earn the victory.
WILD WIN!! pic.twitter.com/jEYtLe4Kl6
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) November 25, 2021
After salvaging the road trip, the Wild will return to St. Paul when they host the Winnipeg Jets on Friday afternoon.
