Greed would have served Wild well, but it heads home tied

One team had a chance to be greedy Tuesday night, but there were no Gordon Gekkos playing for the Wild.

Its 3-1 loss to Las Vegas will be known for the 18 seconds the Wild led the game before it was tied, then the two Alex Tuch goals that put the Golden Knights ahead for good,

The Wild was at full throttle in the first period, banged around in the second, then made a push in the third for a tying goal. For the second consecutive game, Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was outstanding between the pipes, enabling Las Vegas to leave town with vital victory. The man was a wall, stopping 34 shots.

Greed would have been great. With a Wild win on Tuesday, it would have taken a 2-0 lead against a team they have handled for most of the season. It would have turned the 702 blue, raising the possibility that the Golden Knights might have played their final home game of the season.

The Wild has little reason to feel frustrated. It heads home with the series tied at 1-1 with two games at Xcel and a chance to open up an all-but-insurmountable lead against the Golden Knights.

Two things the Wild has to consider as it returns to the Twin Cities. The first is what coach Dean Evason can do to get Kirill Kaprizov going.

The Wild's most dynamic player was pointless for a second consecutive game. He played responsibly on defense, even mixing it up a few times. But he had one shot in the first period, then one more in the second period. He did try to set up Mats Zuccarello from the trapezoid late in the third, to no avail.

That's not going to work.

Kaprizov didn't help his cause with a tripping penalty in the final minutes, as he watched from the box as Las Vegas put the game away.

The other issue: What has outplaying the opponent in the first period of this series gotten these teams?

The Wild rode Cam Talbot's brilliance in goal during a 1-0 overtime win in Game 1. For as well as the team performed, there were things it needed to address heading into Game 2.

Las Vegas took it to the Wild in the first period of Game 1, outshooting it 19-5. Matt Dumba took a penalty for delay of game. It didn't look good then, but the Wild responded and got the ever-important road win.

"We need to have a push earlier," Evason said before Game 2, "so we don't get behind the 8-ball and rely on our goaltender to make several key saves to keep us in the ballgame."

His players listen to him, for they started on the front foot Tuesday.

Zuccarello had an early shot on goal. Ryan Hartman, once again, got good looks at the net. Kevin Fiala had four shots on goal in the period and eight for the game. Nick Bjugstad, getting early minutes, was a forechecking fiend. Fleury was under siege at times in the first period, as the Wild outshot Las Vegas 17-10.

"It was encouraging," Dumba said. "It's a seven-game series. You have to build on every category. It's shots, everything just piles up. We're going to keep with that. I think if we play like we did at the start of the game there, we're going to be just fine."

The Knights got some shots on Talbot, but the Wild plays mostly disciplined defense. And Dumba must have had pock marks on his chest from the shots he blocked.

And what did it get the Wild? A 2-1 deficit after two periods as the game got more physical, the Wild didn't fly around the rink like in the first period and Las Vegas responded with two goals following Dumba's well-placed finish near the 12-minute mark.

So much for strong starts, especially when momentum can change on a shot during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The series, however, is tied 1-1 and the Wild is well-positioned as it heads for Game 3. Sure would have been nice for it to get greedy.