Wild, Golden Knights show similarities with playoff series tied at two apiece

Vegas was supposed to test the Wild with its intimidating first line, depth for days and toughness.

But the challenge has gone both ways in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Wild have given the Golden Knights a taste of their own medicine, their 2-2 split in the best-of-seven series ahead of Game 5 Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena revealing just how much the two teams have in common.

“A lot of the things that are strengths for them are strengths for us, as well,” Wild winger Justin Brazeau said. “So, it’s kind of been one of those battles where you’re not getting a whole lot and whoever gets that one extra opportunity might win the game.”

Never was that truer than in Game 4 when Vegas completed its third-period rally 4-3 in overtime Saturday at Xcel Energy Center to send the series back to Square One.

After a league-best 31-0 run, the Wild finally lost when leading through two periods. They also dropped to 0-5 all-time with the chance to go up 3-1, with the Golden Knights capitalizing on defenseman Jake Middleton’s botched clear near the Wild net.

“It’s a tough play,” coach John Hynes said. “Nothing you can do about it. It’s not like he meant to do it or anything like that. It’s not something that I think you dwell on.”

Regardless of how close the Wild came to securing that third victory or that Vegas was the favorite going into the series as the second-best team in the Western Conference with home-ice advantage, this matchup being evenly contested isn’t a surprise.

Injuries prevented the Wild from showing it as much in the regular season, but their style is like Vegas’ and to this point, they’ve executed some of those hallmarks better.

Take the top line.

Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy have combined for eight goals and 15 points to outplay their counterparts in Ivan Barbashev, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone.

Those three did chip in during the Golden Knights’ Game 4 comeback, with each picking up his first point of the playoffs and Barbashev finishing with two after he netted the game-winning shot. But together they’ve mostly been a non-factor and remained on separate lines at Vegas’ Monday practice after getting split up in Game 4.

(Eriksson Ek didn’t practice alongside Kaprizov and Boldy during the Wild’s session, sitting out for maintenance.)

“When you’re called upon to defend, you have to defend,” veteran Mats Zuccarello said. “When you’re called upon to try and score, our top guys have done that. I think that’s why it’s a tight series.”

But the boost the Wild are getting from lower in their lineup has been bigger than what the Golden Knights have received, too.

No one on Vegas has more goals than Marcus Foligno’s three or more assists than Ryan Hartman’s four. Plus, the Wild’s fourth line has made a difference in the last two games. Marco Rossi has scored twice off a pair of strong forechecks by linemates Brazeau and Yakov Trenin: In Game 3, Brazeau intercepted a rimmed puck by goaltender Adin Hill and sent it back along the boards to Trenin, who parlayed a pass to the middle for Rossi to bury.

Then during Game 4, Trenin won the puck through his pressure and again threw a feed to the front of the net where Brazeau got a piece of it before Rossi’s shot.

“We’ve talked about that, making sure we’re being predictable for each other as far as not trying to make too many complicated plays,” Brazeau said, “[and] making sure we’re getting pucks to certain areas where we can use our strength.”

This tactic has neutralized the grittiness of Vegas’ defense, whose smallest defender is 6-2 and tallest in 6-6 Nicolas Hague was the one who couldn’t corral the puck during Trenin’s approach before Rossi’s Game 4 goal.

“That’s why we got him,” Hynes said of Trenin, who signed a four-year, $14 million contract last summer as a free agent after previously playing for Hynes with the Predators. “He’s a playoff guy. In Nashville, he was one of our best players in the playoffs and when the heat gets turned up and the games are physical and that component of it is a major factor in the game, he rises to the occasion.”

Not only that, but the Wild are outhitting the Golden Knights 145-135 and blocking more shots (92 to 68) led by Middleton’s 14 that are tied for first in the playoffs.

“We’re getting contributions throughout the lineup,” Hynes said, “whether it’s defensively or scoring or playing the way that we believe we need to play to be able to win.”

To be clear, these teams aren’t mirror images of each other.

While the Wild have scored more goals, Vegas has had the upper hand on special teams. Then there’s the muscle memory its core has from winning a Stanley Cup only two years ago.

But each team is also evolving in real time.

Like the Golden Knights, the Wild experimented with a different look at practice Monday since they’re considering subbing veteran Jon Merrill in on defense for rookie Zeev Buium; Marcus Johansson (lower-body injury) did get through the entire skate after missing Game 4, but the Wild will have rookie Liam Ohgren make the trip with them to Las Vegas after the winger racked up 19 goals with Iowa in the American Hockey League.

“Both teams make some adjustments,” Zuccarello said, “and we’ll see how it goes.”

Whoever recalibrates quicker could be the one to shake their shadow for good.

“It’s two teams that prioritize keeping the puck out of the net before scoring and then obviously letting the offense come from that,” Brazeau said. “It’s been a lot of games where there hasn’t been a whole lot of crazy high-end scoring chances, but both teams can finish. So, you gotta make sure that you’re staying above. You’re keeping to it. You’re not chasing offense when sometimes it becomes a little bit frustrating when you’re not getting a lot of looks.

“But making sure you’re doing the right things because they’re trying to do the same thing to us.”