Scoggins: Minnesota Wild begin a test of resilience after sudden setback vs. Vegas Golden Knights

The ending was abrupt, like the cable going out during a movie’s pivotal scene. The lump-in-your-throat nervousness that filled Xcel Energy Center for three-plus hours Saturday afternoon gave way to stunned silence.

A thriller ended that way?

By nature, overtime hockey brings equal doses of agony and ecstasy in a split second. The Wild found themselves on the wrong side of that emotional teeter-totter after an unsightly play cost them dearly.

Jake Middleton partially fanned on an exit pass out of the Wild’s end, causing the puck to wobble into trouble area. The Vegas Golden Knights pounced on that miscue as Ivan Barbashev scored the most important goal of the series.

His overtime goal capped a chaotic scramble in front of Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson after Middleton’s misplay. Vegas’ 4-3 victory evens the series at 2-2, allowing the Golden Knights to reclaim the home-ice advantage.

Playoff hockey tests every team’s resilience, and the Wild will experience that in a heavy dose after failing to take command of the series.

Coach John Hynes sounded calculated in delivering some positive affirmation to the media, and presumably his players, too, after the game.

“Ah, man, we’re in a good spot,” he said. “We knew it would be a hard series. Love where we’re at. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought series. We really like our game. We’re here, man. We’ll just keep grinding.”

The Wild don’t have time or energy to waste sulking over their missed opportunity, though Game 4 could use its own oral history given everything that transpired.

Wild fans likely will howl about the officiating. They voiced their displeasure frequently over calls and non-calls alike.

The one that caused a guttural response came midway through the third period when Vegas’ Thomas Hertl locked up Ryan Hartman near the net. They tumbled to the ice with Hertl on top of Hartman. Mark Stone’s shot ricocheted off Hertl’s leg into the net for a 3-2 lead.

The Golden Knights viewed it as puck luck. The Wild might have a different theory privately, but coaches and players wisely didn’t focus their postgame thoughts on the officiating.

“I thought for the most part they let us play again,” Marcus Foligno said. “If we get into a ref battle, we got bigger things to worry about with their top players.”

Said captain Jared Spurgeon: “It’s wasted energy there. There’s nothing we can really control. So, if you get frustrated with it, it just bleeds into your game.”

Their own mistakes were amplified by situation and outcome. Rookie defenseman Zeev Buium didn’t control his stick and inadvertently clipped Stone in the right eye, causing a bloody gash that drew a four-minute double minor early in the third period.

Vegas capitalized with a power-play goal by Nicolas Roy that tied the game 2-2 after several Wild players failed to clear the puck.

The Wild had additional chances after Spurgeon’s goal made it 3-3 less than a minute after the Hertl-Hartman wrestling match.

Yakov Trenin missed on a breakaway. Vegas goalie Adin Hill robbed Hartman with a glove save on a two-on-one opportunity. A power play in overtime came up empty.

The door stayed ajar until Vegas pounced on a mistake in overtime.

Now comes the hard part. The series isn’t over, but 3-1 and 2-2 feel miles apart. This is the essence of playoff hockey. Momentum swings back and forth. The Golden Knights have it again.

The Wild’s ability to regroup and respond will be tested in a major way.

“I think the feeling in the locker room is very good,” Gustavsson said. “You know everyone has a lot of confidence right now. If we’re playing like we’re playing [in Games 3 and 4], we have a really good chance at beating this team.”

They also know their opponent is going home feeling much better about itself.