A three-goal lead had slipped away and the Chicago Blackhawks looked to be reeling.
Teuvo Teravainen picked that moment to make his first big impact in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Teravainen, the 18th pick in the 2012 NHL Draft and playing in his third NHL postseason game, stunned goaltender Devan Dubnyk and the Minnesota Wild when he fired a puck from along the left-wing boards that found its way into the net with 58.2 seconds left in the second period.
The first goal of Teravainen's NHL playoff career proved decisive as the Blackhawks defeated the Wild 4-3 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round on Friday, their seventh straight playoff win against Minnesota over the past three years.
"I thought the way the game developed during the second period, they took over the game in the second totally," Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said. "They had pretty much everything, and it felt like the game was also slipping away there for a while, but then [Teravainen] scored the huge goal at the end of the period, and we got the momentum back and took care of business in the third."
Chicago opened up a 3-0 lead in the first period, but Minnesota scored three straight in the second to seemingly seize command until Teravainen struck.
Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp and defenseman Duncan Keith controlled the puck along the boards before it came to Teravainen, whose shot through the maze of players along the boards wasn't initially picked up by Dubnyk and beat him just inside the right post.
"I think that wasn't the biggest shot, but sometimes good things happen when I shoot," Teravainen said.
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