Coyle's late goal helps Wild defeat Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS -- Charlie Coyle scored with 5:31 remaining in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Monday.

Coyle's initial wraparound attempt was saved by Marc-Andre Fleury, but Jared Spurgeon gathered the loose puck and passed to Coyle for the 3-2 lead.
WATCH: [All Wild vs. Golden Knights highlights]
"It started with [forwards Joel Erikkson Ek and Luke Kunin] with their changes," Coyle said. "They came off, fresh legs, and we had control. That's unselfishness. That's what we need. They don't get credit, but they should. It was just a heads-up play by Spurgeon."
Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves for Minnesota (25-21-3), which has won three of its past four games after losing three of four.
Mikko Koivu scored his 200th NHL goal, and Marcus Foligno and Eric Staal also scored for the Wild, who are 4-0-1 against the Golden Knights and 2-0-0 at Vegas.

"I think 4-1 [against them], it's great, but it doesn't tell the entire story," Dubnyk said. "They've all been great hockey games; we just happen to be on the right side of it. They're certainly challenging games, certainly they're not cakewalks, but they're fun games to be in and fortunately we've been able to get the points out of it."
The Golden Knights (29-18-4) have alternated wins and losses in their past six games (3-3-0) and have lost two of their past three at home.
Alex Tuch and Max Pacioretty scored for Vegas, and Fleury made 18 saves.
"I don't think we played good today," Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. "I don't think we showed up ready to play against a team that was aggressive for points."
Tuch scored on the power play at 3:37 of the first period to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead.
Brandon Pirri had a chance to give Vegas a 2-0 lead at 7:48 of the second period, but he missed the net from the crease.

Foligno (9:09) and Staal (10:22) scored 1:13 apart in the second to give the Wild a 2-1 lead.
Minnesota's first three goals were scored near the crease. Eriksson Ek spun away from Golden Knights defenseman Colin Miller behind the net and found Foligno for the one-timer; and Jordan Greenway sent a centering pass to Staal in front for his goal.
"What they did on those three goals was outwork us around our net," Gallant said. "They scored three goals in the blue paint. [Fleury] played an outstanding game when he had to make saves, but nothing to stop them when guys are leaving them wide open on the backdoor. We've got to be tougher in the blue paint."
Pacioretty scored at 12:36 of the second period to tie it 2-2.
The Golden Knights had a 5-on-3 power play at 1:04 of the third period; Wild defenseman Ryan Suter was called for slashing at 15 seconds before Foligno was called for delay of game. Vegas had two shots on goal during the two-man advantage.

"That was huge," Coyle said. "It can make or break. A bounce here, bounce there, but our guys did a good job. Being on the other side of things, a 5-on-3, if you don't score, it can be frustrating and disappointing."
Koivu scored an empty-net goal at 19:48 of the third for the 4-2 final.

They said it

"On the road, it's beneficial for any team. You keep the crowd out of it if you're flying back and forth, scoring or not. The atmosphere in the building is great. When you enter someone else's building, especially one like this, you have to go out there and not give them any reason to make noise. We did a good enough job today." -- Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk
"I thought we couldn't sustain pressure. It got away from us in the third. They were able to capitalize on a few more opportunities, and I guess maybe they were a little bit hungrier than we were tonight." -- Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch

Need to know

Staal also had an assist for his eighth multipoint game of the season. He has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past seven games. … Koivu became the second player in Wild history to score 200 goals (Marian Gaborik, 219). He and Saku Koivu (255) are the 14th set of brothers to score 200 goals each in the NHL. … Coyle scored his 20th game-winning goal in the NHL, the fifth-most in Wild history. … Miller has four assists in two games since returning Saturday. He missed the previous 13 games because of an upper-body injury. … Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault had an assist on Tuch's goal. He has four points (three goals, one assist) in his past two games. … Tuch scored his NHL career-high 16th goal of the season.

What's next

Wild: At the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday (9:30 p.m. ET; ALT, FS-N, FS-WI, NHL.TV)
Golden Knights: Host the Nashville Predators on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN)