Takeaways: Mats Zuccarello’s overtime goal lifts Wild to 3-2 victory at Seattle

SEATTLE – The Wild made the longest road trip they have ever been on even longer ... but for good reason.

They defeated the Kraken 3-2 in overtime on Thursday, Jan. 8, at Climate Pledge Arena to return home with 10 points out of a possible 14, going 4-1-2 on their seven-game trek.

“We stay the night,” Marcus Foligno said, “so might as well.”

After the Wild blew a 2-0 lead in the third period, Mats Zuccarello spoiled Seattle’s late rally by burying a 2-on-1 pass from Kirill Kaprizov 2 minutes, 9 seconds into 3-on-3 overtime following a clutch shot block by Brock Faber.

The assist on Zuccarello’s seventh career OT goal was Kaprizov’s 437th point, tying Marian Gaborik for second in Wild history; Mikko Koivu is first with 709.

“I felt like we had the game where we wanted it,” Zuccarello said. “We had some chances here and there, but I thought it was a solid game. So, I think we got the deserved win at the end.”

Earlier, Ryan Hartman scored his second in as many games, and Faber’s goal was his 10th to tie his career high set last season.

Jesper Wallstedt made 26 saves in his 12th victory, which tied Darcy Kuemper and Kaapo Kahkonen for the second most in a season by a Wild rookie goaltender; Kahkonen also has the record with 16.

But the Wild didn’t leave the road unscathed, with Joel Eriksson Ek not finishing the game due to a lower-body injury that coach John Hynes classified as day-to-day.

“It was nothing major,” Hynes said. “I think he just got intertwined a little bit with a guy right at the bench. It wasn’t even a hit or anything like that. Just one of those freak accidents.”

After a lackluster loss to Los Angeles three nights earlier, the Wild had two days to reset before facing Seattle, and they were rejuvenated.

They were crisp and concise, the Wild at times flinging the puck around the offensive zone with such precision that it looked like a game of keep-away against the Kraken.

Kaprizov’s six 50-point seasons are second in team history behind only Koivu’s seven.

Hunt returned from missing 10 games with “a really, really bad charley horse.

“My whole leg was blue and black and yellow,” said Hunt, who was injured Dec. 16 vs. Washington. “It just takes time for that quad to heal. I couldn’t even walk for two weeks; that’s how bad it was.”

With 4:06 to go in the first, the Wild doubled their lead on an impressive shift that saw Boldy shield the puck away from Seattle’s Vince Dunn before handing off to Hughes, who set up a patient Faber for a wrister.

The goal was Faber’s third on the trip, and he will head back to the Twin Cities on a three-game point streak.

BOXSCORE: Wild 3, Seattle 2 (OT)

NHL standings

The Wild were even better in the second, with Wallstedt having just one save more than halfway through the period, but them not pulling away kept the Kraken in the game.

“That could have easily been done in regulation if we pop a few,” Faber said.

Seattle upped the pressure late in the second, forcing Wallstedt to make back-to-back pad saves before Dunn’s attempt at a rebound sailed over the net.

Then during consecutive Wild penalties, Seattle netted the equalizer on the power play when Matty Beniers put back a rebound at 9:07; the Kraken were 1-for-3 and the Wild 0-for-1 on the power play.

“We were confident in what we were doing,” Wallstedt said. “I think they got lucky there on a couple bounces.”

Eriksson Ek’s loss was noticeable; he exited the second early and was out for all the third.

But the Wild didn’t panic after losing their lead.

In overtime, Faber capped off a superb game by backchecking during an already lengthy shift to get in the way of Ryker Evans’ attempt on net. Kaprizov corralled the loose puck and hauled it to the offensive zone where he passed off to Zuccarello for the slam-dunk shot by Grubauer, who totaled 31 saves.

The 24 points the Wild have banked on the road since since Nov. 7 are second in the NHL.

In the last game of a 14-day tour, the longest the Wild have ever been on the road, they could have been focused on the flight home — especially after they coughed up a 2-0 lead late.

Instead, they acted like their business trip wasn’t over and finished the job, which wasn’t easy considering they were playing shorthanded. But the Wild have a knack for persevering when they maybe shouldn’t, and that continues to make what this team is accomplishing this season impressive.

“I was really proud of the team coming in, handling this situation the right way,” Hynes said. “Start of the game, we were ready to go. Obviously, I thought we were pretty solid through two periods, and then they got a couple.

“We got into penalty trouble, and they scored. But then I also think our response after that was really good. So, I just have a lot of respect for the way the players went about this whole trip.”