Minnesota beat Pittsburgh at home, Kaprizov scored the winning goal

Minnesota defeated Pittsburgh (3:2) in a very close game. The Penguins were able to come back twice, but it was Marc-André Fleury who was the man behind the goal. The game was eventually decided by Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov.

The Minnesota Wild punished Eller’s suspension in the 1st period

The home team’s goal was scored by the legendary Marc-André Fleury. On the other side, Alex Nedeljkovic was given the opportunity instead of Penguins’ number one goalie Tristan Jarry. The central moment of the first period, however, was the 11th minute exclusion of forward Lars Eller for a high stick.

The experienced hockey player recently made hockey history in his country by becoming the first Dane to play 1,000 games in the NHL during the regular season. Eller was given 2+2 minutes and in the third minute of the power play, Wild forward Matthew Boldy struck. He scored his 17th goal of the season after assists from Kaprizov and last month’s top rookie Brock Faber.

Pittsburgh was able to get back into the game twice

Pittsburgh didn’t give up, though, and increased their shooting activity and were rewarded with the equalizer. Reilly Smith tied the game at the end of the third minute of the second period after a pass from Evgeni Malkin, who beat Fleury for the first time in the game and scored his ninth goal of the season.

But Minnesota nearly doubled its shooting effort from the first period. And they took the lead for the second time three minutes later. This time Nedeljkovic capitulated off the stick of defenseman Jonas Brodin, who scored only his second goal of the season.

The visiting team entered the third period even more active. In addition, the Penguins were fed by Kaprizov’s exclusion from the edge of the third. As the power-play team of Guentzel, Karlsson and Crosby tied the game at 2:2 in just 29 seconds. The goal was scored by captain Sidney Crosby, the 36-year-old veteran’s 28th goal of the season.

However, Kaprizov made up for his mistake eight minutes later when he was beaten by the visitors’ goalie for the last time in the game. The Russian hockey player scored his 20th goal of the season to set the final score at 3:2 for the home team. It was an important two points for the Wild. They are now just three points behind the playoffs.

For Pittsburgh, it’s a bigger complication after the unexpected defeat, its deficit has grown to a difference of five points. Goaltender Marc-André Fleury, who played 13 seasons with the Penguins, was voted the star of the duel. He had 34 saves in the game and picked up his 553rd win in the regular season.

Source: NHL