Wild playing above playoff status as only wild-card team with series lead, entering Game 4 vs Vegas

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The wild-card berth has suited Minnesota well. It's part of the franchise's nickname, after all.

With game-breaking production from Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, shut-down defense on the first line for the Vegas Golden Knights and stellar goaltending by Filip Gustavsson, the Wild have a 2-1 lead in their first-round Western Conference series.

For a team that barely got in the NHL playoffs, struggling to stay afloat while Kaprizov and fellow first-line forward Joel Eriksson Ek recovered from long-term injuries, the Wild have sure flipped a switch to meet the moment in the playoffs against a Golden Knights team that finished with the third-best record in the regular season.

Since the NHL realigned and revamped the postseason format starting with the 2013-14 season, this is the fourth time Minnesota qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs as a wild-card team. The Wild won first-round series in 2014 and 2015, before losing in 2016. That six-game victory in 2015 over St. Louis was the last time they won a series.

This spring, Minnesota is the only one of the four wild-card teams with a lead in the series.

''Down the stretch at the end of the regular season, it was a grind. We had some teams that were pushing from behind us. We had Kirill and Ekky come back and we had some different dynamics coming in with our team," coach John Hynes said. "I think that the team really believes that we're really good team if we play a certain way.''

Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers

When/Where to Watch: Game 3, Saturday, 1 p.m. EDT (TBS/truTV/Max)

Series: Panthers lead 2-0.

Florida returns home with the chance to finish off its in-state rival, facing a game both sides know will be even more rugged than before — especially after Tampa Bay left wing Brandon Hagel's major-drawing-penalty kept Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov from playing in the final 10 minutes of Game 2.

''I think the intensity is going to ramp up,'' Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. ''I think the physicality will definitely ramp up.''

Barkov has not been cleared for Game 3, or ruled out. Florida will have defenseman Aaron Ekblad back from a 20-game suspension for a violation of the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.

The Lightning will surely play with desperation. They lost the first two games of the East finals in 2022 to the New York Rangers — albeit on the road — before winning that series.

''You've just got to try to win one,'' center Brayden Point said. ''Series isn't over, and all we can do is just focus on the next game. Down 2-0, that's what it is. You can't change it, and I think there's some stuff that we can build on.''

Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has stopped 39 of 41 shots in the series, and the 2-0 victory on Thursday was his fourth postseason shutout.

''Obviously, we've seen it for the last couple of years now," Florida center Sam Bennett said. "When the moment gets bigger, that's when he just seems to be more on his game.''

The frustration was clear from Tampa Bay, an inevitable carryover from last year — and, well, even some of the year before that — for NHL scoring leader Nikita Kucherov. The back-to-back league points champion has gone 12 playoff games without a goal, going back to Game 1 of the first-round series in 2023 against Toronto.

Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild

When/Where to Watch: Game 3, Saturday, 4 p.m. EDT (TBS/truTV/Max)

Series: Wild lead 2-1.

Gustavsson quietly had a solid bounce-back regular season for the Wild and has kept that up against the Golden Knights with 83 saves in three games.

''It just feels like every time we need it most, he makes those saves. It's so comforting and builds so much confidence,'' defenseman Brock Faber said.

The Golden Knights outhit the Wild 42-26 in Game 3, including a punishing blow that forced second line left wing Marcus Johansson out of the game in the third period, putting his status for Game 4 in question.

''I think we've got to be harder on them," left wing Ivan Barbashev said. ''I think we let them off the hook a little bit in Game 1 and Game 2. But to us, it's a little wakeup call. Just got to be harder as a team.''

Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators

When/Where to Watch: Game 3, Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT (TBS/truTV/Max)

Series: Maple Leafs lead 3-0.

The coaching change in Toronto with Craig Berube taking over this season has so far helped facilitate a fresh look for the playoffs for the Maple Leafs. They're one win from a sweep of intra-Ontario rival Ottawa with the franchise's first 3-0 lead since 2001.

Toronto's power play is 5 for 9 in the series, righting a past spring problem. In five postseasons under coach Sheldon Keefe, the Maple Leafs won only one series, a first-round victory in six games over Tampa Bay in 2023. They were 16-21 in the playoffs overall with Keefe despite entering their first series as the higher seed four out of five times.

After losing a second straight 3-2 overtime decision in Game 3, Senators left wing David Perron had a unique perspective on the way the Maple Leafs were playing — and winning. Perron played for Berube on the 2019 championship team with the St. Louis Blues.

''I do see some stuff that pops in my head,'' he said. ''And I know where it comes from.''

Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche

When/Where to Watch: Game 4, Saturday, 9:30 p.m. EDT (TBS/truTV/Max)

Series: Stars lead 2-1.

Home ice has been anything but an advantage for the Avalanche against the Stars over the last two postseasons. Colorado has now lost four straight games at Ball Arena in the playoffs to Dallas. The return of captain Gabriel Landeskog following a nearly three-year absence wasn't enough to help end the skid in Game 3, when the Stars won in overtime on Tyler Seguin 's goal.

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar wasn't willing to put much stock in the streak hanging over his team's heads entering Game 4.

''If you're thinking about that," Bednar said, "you shouldn't be in our locker room come game night. We've got to be thinking about that game and in the moment and what we have to do to have success.''

For Colorado, success can be boiled down to the power play. The Avalanche were 0 for 6 in Game 3 and might make some changes, like perhaps giving right wing Valeri Nichushkin more time with the man advantage.

Nathan MacKinnon and the fast-flying Avalanche have been having a difficult time finding much open ice against the Stars and their high-pressure defense.

''You don't do that unless you've got five guys on the ice on the same page, with that recognition,'' Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. ''Our attention to detail has been the reason."

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AP Sports Writers Pat Graham in Denver and Tim Reynolds in Sunrise, Florida, contributed to this report.

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