Ivan Barbashev scored with 2:34 left in overtime to lift the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night, evening their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.
Nicolas Roy and Tomas Hertl each tallied a goal and an assist, and Shea Theodore also scored for the Pacific Division champion Golden Knights. Adin Hill finished with 29 saves.
The game-winner came after Roy forced a turnover deep in Minnesota’s zone. His centering pass deflected off Wild defenseman Jake Middleton and Barbashev capitalized on the loose puck during a frantic scramble, netting his first postseason goal after a 23-goal regular season.
“It feels like we finally got some of the bounces we were missing earlier,” Theodore said.
Vegas also killed off a Wild power play early in the extra frame to stay alive.
Marco Rossi, Marcus Foligno, and Jared Spurgeon scored for Minnesota, while Filip Gustavsson made 42 saves, including two sprawling stops on Reilly Smith late in regulation.
“This series is what we expected — tough, back and forth,” Foligno said. “Now it’s a best-of-three heading back to Vegas.”
Minnesota is now 0-5 all-time when leading a series 2-1.
Game 5 will be Tuesday night in Las Vegas, with Game 6 back in St. Paul on Thursday.
Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy praised his team’s resilience: “We lost home ice but earned it back. It’s been a grind — every inch of ice has been hard to get.”
Trailing 2-1 entering the third, Roy tied the game with a goal during a four-minute power play, and Hertl gave Vegas a 3-2 lead shortly after when a Mark Stone shot deflected off him and into the net. Spurgeon quickly answered for the Wild, scoring 54 seconds later to tie it again.
Minnesota had been perfect in the regular season when leading after two periods (29-0-0), but couldn’t hold on this time.
“There was no panic after they tied it,” Roy said. “We stayed focused and trusted our game.”
Theodore and Rossi traded first-period goals before Foligno gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead early in the second, knocking down a fluttering puck and jamming it into the net for his third series goal.
The Wild were without Marcus Johansson, who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 3. Vinnie Hinostroza took his place in the lineup.
