Wild lose to Golden Knights in shootout but clinch playoff berth

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs despite losing 4-3 in a shootout to the Vegas Golden Knights at Xcel Energy Center on Monday.

Minnesota clinched its fourth straight postseason berth when the Dallas Stars defeated the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Monday. With the win, the Stars moved into a tie with the Wild for first in the Central Division, two points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, who have two games in hand.
"We're going to play every game to get two points," Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. "That's what we're going to do. We're not focused on getting higher in the standings. We're focused on getting two points. We're going to talk about trying to stay as healthy as we possibly can when we get into the playoffs."

Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist, Brandon Duhaime and John Klingberg scored, and Filip Gustavsson made 23 saves for the Wild (44-23-10), who are 5-1-2 in their past eight games.
"We played a [heck] of a hockey game," Evason said. "Listen, that's our first step, right? The way we played tonight as opposed to the other night (a 4-1 loss in Vegas on Saturday), we were so happy with the way we played. Five-on-five, we were as good as we've been and we make a mistake at the end 5-on-6.
"We liked the way we came back from that game and played a real strong hockey game."
Pavel Dorofeyev had his first NHL multigoal game, William Karlsson had two assists, and Laurent Brossoit made 30 saves for the Golden Knights (48-22-7), who are 10-2-1 in their past 13 games.
Vegas moved three points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings and four points ahead of the Edmonton Oilers for first place in the Pacific Division.
"We weren't at our best. We know that," Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. "First period was fine, we were OK. Then in the second, we got loose with some net-front stuff. But at the end of the day, you've got to win some of those games with your B game so to speak. We were able to do it, so good for us."

Dorofeyev tied it 3-3 at 19:25 of the third period with Brossoit pulled for the extra skater. Karlsson couldn't handle a backhand pass from below the goal line by Jack Eichel, but the puck went right to Dorofeyev, who scored blocker side with a slap shot.
"You can't blame anyone for not trying," Gustavsson said. "Everyone is trying to block shots and get their guy. Sometimes you lose a guy. They're six and we're five and you're going to lose a guy somewhere. He happened to be in the slot and he found a hole."
Kolesar gave Vegas a 1-0 lead at 9:59 of the first period, deflecting a shot from the point by Ben Hutton.
Duhaime tied it 1-1 at 3:36 of the second period. He picked up the puck in the neutral zone and skated past Nicolas Hague before scoring glove side from the left circle.
Klingberg gave the Wild a 2-1 lead at 13:57 when he scored glove side from the point, but Dorofeyev tied it 2-2 at 16:34 with a one-timer from above the left circle off a drop pass from Reilly Smith.
Dorofeyev, who did not play Saturday, has seven goals in 10 games since being recalled from Henderson of the American Hockey League on March 12.
"I just try to keep feeding him the puck because it seems like he's got a lot of confidence right now," Smith said. "He's putting it in the back of the net. As a linemate of his, you just got to keep feeding him and giving him opportunities. I was pretty shocked that he missed a couple games, but it's great to see him jump back in and really not lose a beat."

Smith finished the game with four shots and a plus-1 rating in 18:09 of ice time after missing four games with a lower-body injury.
"A little rusty," Smith said "Timing's a little off, but it was nice to play an extra five minutes (in overtime) and try to get the rust off that way. Guys I played with all the time, they're so good at being able to communicate and help me out, and I think that went a long way tonight."
Boldy put Minnesota back in front 3-2 at 19:19 of the second, shooting into an open net off a backdoor return pass from Joel Eriksson Ek.
"It's just going in, I guess," said Boldy, who has 11 goals in his past eight games. "I'm playing with great linemates (Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson)."
NOTES: Boldy has 30 goals this season, joining Marian Gaborik (30 in 2001-02 and 2002-03) as the only players in Wild history to reach the mark at the age of 21 or younger. … Eichel extended his point streak to six games (one goal, eight assists). … Karlsson has 37 assists this season, an NHL career high.