The Wild finally had Kirill Kaprizov in action and Gustav Nyquist, too, but the team's best work came while down a player.
After the Wild scored twice in 20 seconds while shorthanded to turn the page on a ho-hum start, a late penalty kill preserved a much-needed win, their 5-3 decision against the Blues on Saturday in front of 19,191 at Xcel Energy Center snapping a three-game slide.
"This is the time of year we want to play our best hockey," Nyquist said. "So, we want to start now and not wait until the playoffs start."
These were the Wild's only penalty kills of the night, and both were vital to lifting the team to 100 points and keeping it in the race for the Central Division crown.
Trailing St. Louis by a goal after Sammy Blais deflected in a puck 5 minutes, 19 seconds into the first period, the Wild transformed their deficit into a lead thanks to Ryan Hartman.
He intercepted a Blues pass and then chased after the carom, eluding the sprawled poke check from goalie Jordan Binnington (25 saves) before dumping the puck into an empty net at 11:17. Hartman capped off the goal with a celebratory finger wag.
(Back story: The last time these teams faced off on March 15 at St. Louis, an 8-5 victory for the Wild, Hartman bumped Binnington after scoring and Binnington decked Hartman. A melee ensued, and Binnington was ejected after almost fighting with Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.)
On the very next shift, Hartman hit Kasperi Kapanen to force another turnover before scooping up the loose puck and threading a 2-on-1 pass to Sam Steel that he buried behind Binnington at 11:37, giving the Wild the two fastest shorthanded goals in team history, 20 seconds apart.
