ST. PAUL, Minn. — A chippy hockey game typically comes down to special teams, and the Minnesota Wild won that battle — and the game — against the Avalanche on Sunday.
A late cross-checking penalty on Colorado defenseman Erik Johnson against former teammate Tyson Jost proved costly as the Wild used an overtime power-play goal from Kevin Fiala to defeat Colorado, 3-2, at the Xcel Energy Center.
“No comment,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said when asked if he thought Johnson deserved the game’s last penalty.
Johnson’s stick made contact with Jost as he slid into the boards with 24 seconds remaining in regulation. The Avs killed off the 24 seconds to collect a point, but Minnesota gained two points when Fiala scored 15 seconds into OT. The point earned by the Avs extends their NHL lead to 98, a win shy of reaching 100 for the first time in a full 82-game season since 2013-14.
Johnson and Jost — who was traded to the Wild for Nico Sturm on March 16 — were seen chatting as friends in the hallway between the dressing rooms after the game. There was no animosity. But Bednar had some towards the officials.
In addition to final penalty, Bednar also didn’t agree with the holding minor on forward J.T. Compher in the second period that led to Minnesota’s first power-play goal.
“Nope,” the coach said when asked if Compher deserved to sit in the box.
Nevertheless, the Wild made the most of their opportunities in the Central Division showdown, finishing 2-of-4 with the man advantage. Colorado was 1-for-3. The Avs produced 14 shots in each period of regulation to finish with 42. They limited the Wild to 28, plus Fiala’s winner in OT.
“It was a good hockey game,” Bednar said. “I thought our checking game was really good, didn’t give up a lot against a dangerous offensive team. We created quite a bit. Didn’t finish our chances, obviously. It took us a long time to get on the board after creating some pretty good chances. (But) I liked our game, though.”
Avs second-line center Nazem Kadri had a big game, producing a goal and an assist off two of his third-period faceoffs.
Kadri tied it 1-1 6:21 into the third period during a five-minute stretch when star center Nathan MacKinnon served in the penalty box for fighting. MacKinnon took issue with Matt Dumba’s mid-ice check on Mikko Rantanen. MacKinnon got the better of Dumba, landing the biggest punch and taking Dumba to the ice.
Minutes later, Kadri won an offensive-zone faceoff back to defenseman Devon Toews, who slid the puck it to J.T. Compher against the wall. Compher dished to Kadri and he one-timed it past goalie Cam Talbot from the top of the circle.
Nearly four minutes later, at 10:03, Kadri won another offensive zone faceoff to Rantanen, who ripped a wrister past Talbot for the Avs’ 2-1 lead — their first of the game.
It didn’t last long. Wild forward Ryan Hartman put the puck past Avs goalie Darcy Kuemper at 14:34, capping a terrific individual effort by linemate Mats Zuccarello. Zuccarello found Hartman back door, and Kuemper didn’t have much of a chance.
Minnesota winger Kirill Kaprizov broke the scoreless game at 18:07 on the power play, following what appeared to be a soft holding infraction on Compher. Kaprizov tapped in a perfect circle-to-circle pass from Hartman.
MacKinnon’s fight seem to get the visitors more involved.
“You come to expect it. He’s a competitor,” Bednar said of MacKinnon’s decision to fight Dumba. “He didn’t like it. Clean hit, hard hit, but he jumps in, sticks up for his teammate. Come to expect that from him.”
Footnotes. Newly acquired Avs forward Artturi Lehkonen, who came over from the Canadiens ahead of last week’s NHL trade deadline, was again scratched because of immigration issues. The Finn has yet to make his debut with his new club. … Colorado continues to play without injured forward Gabe Landeksog (knee surgery) and defensemen Ryan Murray (upper-body) and Sam Girard (back). Defenseman Bo Byram, who is attempting a third comeback this season from concussion issues, remains on personal leave.
