Takeaways: Cole Caufield’s goal with 15 seconds left lifts Canadiens past Wild 4-3

The Wild were 15 seconds away from upgrading their road trip from good to great.

After getting dominated early and rallying twice — including in the third period — the Wild were denied 4-3 by the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, Jan. 20, at Bell Centre when Cole Caufield’s last-minute goal snatched up the point the Wild would have banked from making it to overtime.

“Would have been great to give ourselves a chance to earn the two points in overtime,” defenseman Brock Faber told reporters in Montreal.

Like they did all game, the Canadiens played keep away from the Wild in the waning seconds of regulation before working the puck to Caufield, who turned into a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle that flew by rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt at 19:45 of the third.

“He’s the most dangerous player on the ice, and I gotta close harder there,” said Faber, who played with Caufield on Team USA at the World Juniors and against him in college when Faber was with the Gophers and Caufield the Wisconsin Badgers.

“That’s what he does,” Faber continued. “That’s what he does. He scores big goals. Yeah, would have been great to give ourselves a chance to earn the two points in overtime.”

Still, the Wild aren’t returning home empty-handed.

Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals on the power play, the latter tying the Wild and Montreal at 3-3 with 7:20 remaining in the third.

Faber set a career high in goals, Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello had two assists apiece, and Wallstedt made 29 saves, with a whopping 13 coming in the first period alone.

The Wild are still without forwards Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson and defensemen Jonas Brodin and Zach Bogosian, who are all sidelined with lower-body injuries.

Eriksson Ek and Bogosian are possibilities to return to action later this week, but Brodin will miss the Olympics after getting named to Sweden’s roster earlier this month. Brodin hasn’t played since Jan. 12.

Bogosian (eight games) and Eriksson Ek (six) have been out even longer, while Boldy and Johansson exited the lineup ahead of this trip.

Case in point: Tarasenko scored in every game on the trip, racking up five goals during his three-game streak, and the winger also has eight points during a four-game point streak.

“Obviously, with the guys out, you have more minutes, more situations you play in,” said Tarasenko, who met with coach John Hynes ahead of the trip, “and try to help the team win.”

BOXSCORE: Montreal 4, Wild 3

NHL standings

The Wild were under siege from the get-go, and they scrambled to fend off the Canadiens’ speed and skill.

Quinn Hughes also assisted on the goal, his fifth point on the trip.

But once the Canadiens were back to full strength, they picked up where they left off, scoring twice during an 8-0 run in shots: Danault was first to a rebound in front of Wallstedt at 15:22, and then Alexandre Carrier tipped in a Mike Matheson shot with 52 seconds left in the first.

Overall, Montreal outshot the Wild 15-2 in the first period.

“Their team did a great job with getting guys to the net today,” Wallstedt said. “I was fighting all day with their players in and out of in front of me. First period, it felt like they had a tip on every shot they threw in. Got to give credit to them today that they really pushed a lot of guys towards the net. That’s how you score goals in this league.”

The Wild had the puck more in the second period and were rewarded for their uptick in possession when Faber drained a shot inside the left point at 10:16 after a pass from Kaprizov, who skated into the shot’s path to add to the traffic in front of goaltender Jakub Dobes. Vinnie Hinostroza also screened Dobes, and he and Kaprizov earned assists on Faber’s 11th goal, which established a career high for the defenseman. Kaprizov finished the trip with seven assists.

Only 2:19 after Faber’s equalizer, Lane Hutson connected on a one-timer from the right faceoff circle.

That 3-2 lead for the Canadiens disappeared after back-to-back penalties by Montreal in the third period.

The Wild took a timeout before starting a 45-second 5-on-3, and keeping their first unit on the ice paid off: Tarasenko whacked in a Kaprizov rebound from the goal line. The power play went 2-for-4, and the penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3.

“We pushed back, which is what you want to see,” Hynes said.

Overtime seemed inevitable, especially with how pucks were sticking to Wallstedt.

But the Wild got hemmed in their own zone during the last minute, and the pressure culminated in Caufield’s clutch shot.

“Maybe tired minds,” Wallstedt said. “We just couldn’t get the puck out unfortunately. They made us pay on that.”

Dobes had 16 stops for the Canadiens.

Tarasenko’s 13 total goals are two more than he had last season with Detroit before joining the Wild in an offseason trade.

“He’s stepped-up big time for us,” Faber said. “That’s why he’s a leader. That’s why he’s had such a successful career. Such a great addition to this team.”

The game, like the trip, had plenty of positives, but the negatives stung.

In the first period, the Canadiens were cruising, their young legs making the Wild look a step behind at the end a three-game, four-day itinerary.

But the Wild’s poise sparked their rally: They didn’t panic. They stayed patient. And that perseverance would have led them to overtime had their execution not slipped late.

“It was a situation at the end that we got to clean up,” Hynes said.

Still, the Wild didn’t pack up early after getting down, and Hynes praised that focus — which is how they managed to defeat the Sabres as self-proclaimed underdogs and end the Maple Leafs’ win streak on home ice despite missing five key players.