With the Wild and Blues sitting next to each other in the West Division and the longtime rivals facing off eight times in the roughly six weeks remaining in the season, this head-to-head series will help decide where each team finishes in the standings.
And one game into the battle, the Wild has the upper hand.
Led by goaltender Cam Talbot's second shutout of the season and a less-is-more shooting philosophy, the Wild pushed its franchise-record home win streak to 11 games after holding off the Blues 2-0 Thursday at Xcel Energy Center ahead of a three-day break in the schedule.
While idle, the team will stay ahead of the Blues in the West after growing its lead over St. Louis to six points.
Talbot was the star of the night, remaining undefeated at home this season (7-0) after fending off 37 shots. Instead of going with the rested Kaapo Kahkonen, the Wild stuck with Talbot (who played the previous night in the 3-2 win over the Ducks) and the decision paid off.
Overall, Talbot has allowed one goal or less in six of his eight starts at Xcel Energy Center.
And against the Blues, he had to work to keep them off the scoresheet.
St. Louis drastically outshot the Wild, which tested goalie Jordan Binnington just twice in the first period and six times in the second. Ultimately, Binnington made nine stops on 11 shots – which tied the franchise record for fewest in a game. The last time that happened was Jan.4, 2014, in a 5-3 win over Washington at home.
At the other end of the ice, Talbot was much busier.
After a fight between Ryan Hartman and Brayden Schenn off the opening faceoff, the Wild and Blues traded power plays and St. Louis emerged with the better pressure – offensive-zone time that had the Wild scrambling.
But with Talbot airtight, the Wild escaped the first period scoreless.
In the second, the Wild had a few more looks against Binnington and took advantage.
A give-and-go between Marcus Johansson and Kevin Fiala that Johansson buried put the Wild ahead at 5 minutes, 46 seconds.
Despite getting a slight breakaway into Blues territory, Johansson went for a drop pass to Fiala and Fiala returned the puck to a wide-open Johansson for the redirect into an open side – Johansson's third goal of the season and first since returning earlier this week from injury.
As for Fiala, the heads-up assist was his first point in five games.
Talbot was key after that, especially on a penalty kill while rookie Kirill Kaprizov was in the box for hooking. Not only did Talbot glove down a Vladimir Tarasenko shot in tight, but Talbot he absorbed a slapshot from Justin Faulk that actually got lodged in the cage of his mask. The Blues ended up going 0-for-3 on the power play, same as the Wild
Soon after the Wild was back to full strength, Kaprizov doubled the team's lead on a smooth individual effort.
Going 1-on-1 against the Blues' Torey Krug, Kaprizov faked inside before veering wide and unleashing a shot short-side and just under the crossbar at 15:21.
Kaprizov's goal was his first in seven games and 11th on the season, which is tied for the most on the Wild. After registering an assist Wednesday, he has a point in back-to-back games after a three-game drought.
His 27 points lead the Wild, and Kaprizov continues to pace all NHL rookies in goals, assists (16) and points.
The finish also gave the Wild two goals on eight shots in the game, a 25 percent shooting percentage that was more than enough cushion for Talbot, who picked up another 13 saves in the third period – a perfect conclusion ahead of the team's final lull in the schedule for the rest of the regular season.
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March 26, 2021 at 09:42AM
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Badly outshot, Wild defies odds to shut out Blues 2-0 - Minneapolis Star Tribune
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