Wild turn fast start into 3-1 road win over Predators

A first period that changed the night

Minnesota’s win was built in 4:13 of the opening period. Nick Foligno opened the scoring at 9:35 with a wrist shot, with Michael McCarron and Olli Maatta collecting the assists. Blake Coleman doubled the lead at 13:48, again on a wrist shot, this time set up by Bobby Brink and Danila Yurov.

That quick two-goal cushion mattered because it gave the Wild a cleaner game to manage the rest of the way. Minnesota finished with a 30-20 edge in shots, and Juuse Saros had to handle regular work all night, stopping 27 of 30. Nashville kept the game from getting away entirely, but the early damage meant the Predators were chasing from the first intermission onward.

There were useful supporting shifts behind those goals. McCarron did more than help on the opener, adding a team-high six hits for Minnesota, while Foligno and Coleman turned modest individual shot totals into finish. In a game without a flood of scoring chances on either side, those first-period conversions gave the Wild the clearest separation on the scoreboard.

Josi’s reply gave Nashville life, but not enough

Nashville found its answer midway through the second. Roman Josi cut the deficit to 2-1 at 9:23 with a slap shot, assisted by Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos. That was the Predators’ only breakthrough, and for a stretch it gave the game the tighter shape the home side wanted.

What followed was the most important defensive work of Minnesota’s night. Jesper Wallstedt finished with 19 saves and a .950 save percentage, and his special-teams numbers stand out: five power-play saves as Nashville went 0-for-4 with the extra skater. The Wild penalty kill did its part in front of him, and Jonas Brodin’s six blocked shots were the best individual total in the game.

Nashville did some things well enough to keep this close. The Predators led the faceoff battle 52.5 per cent to 47.5 and finished with a 26-20 edge in hits. Ryan O’Reilly won 13 of 22 draws, and Josi logged 24:53 while scoring the club’s lone goal. Even so, the Predators could not turn those territorial details into a second finish, and that left too much of the night resting on one sequence.

Our take: Minnesota found the cleaner margin

The decisive final blow came early in the third period. Kirill Kaprizov restored the two-goal lead at 4:42 with a tip-in, with Quinn Hughes and Jared Spurgeon drawing the assists. It was a fitting cap to Hughes’ workload-heavy night: 27:30 of ice time, five shots and an assist. Once Minnesota moved back in front by two, Nashville never found another scoring answer.

The cleanest difference between the teams was not physicality or faceoffs; Nashville actually led both categories. It was execution. Minnesota scored three times on 30 shots, Nashville once on 20. The Wild also won the special-teams ledger by finishing 1-for-4 on the power play while shutting down all four Predators opportunities. In a 3-1 game, that edge is not a footnote. It is the margin.

If Nashville is looking for the most obvious repair, it starts with creating more offence from the possession details it did win. The Predators took only 20 shots, and an 0-for-4 power play made the comeback path too narrow. Minnesota, meanwhile, will take the road result and the goaltending, but there is still room to tighten the puck management after 14 giveaways and to be sharper on draws after finishing below 50 per cent. On this night, though, the Wild were the more efficient team, and the scoreboard reflected it.

Scoring moments

1. 1st · 9:35

   Nick Foligno Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Michael McCarron (1), Olli Maatta (1)

2. 1st · 13:48

   Blake Coleman Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Bobby Brink (1), Danila Yurov (1)

3. 2nd · 9:23

   Roman Josi Goal (1) Slap Shot, assists: Filip Forsberg (1), Steven Stamkos (1)

4. 3rd · 4:42

   Kirill Kaprizov Goal (1) Tip-In, assists: Quinn Hughes (1), Jared Spurgeon (1)