Quinn Hughes moved away from Macklin Celebrini in the right circle, crossed above the left circle and sent his wrist shot past Yaroslav Askarov’s blocker. The goal with 6:54 played in the third gave Minnesota a 3-1 lead. San Jose had entered the period only one goal behind; one piece of individual skill had made its task substantially harder.
Minnesota finished with a 4-1 victory Friday in St. Paul, but the score did not describe a night in which San Jose was helpless from the start. Coach Ryan Warsofsky judged the Sharks’ work rate and recovery between plays better than in the 7-2 loss to Los Angeles. That assessment has support in the game’s shape.
San Jose reached the second intermission trailing 2-1 and produced 24 shots, including 10 in the middle period.
The problem was that Minnesota kept finding ways to turn small openings into goals. Kirill Kaprizov opened the scoring 7:55 into the first period during a two-man advantage. Ty Dellandrea’s holding penalty at 7:00 and Collin Graf’s tripping call at 7:28 left the Sharks defending with three skaters, and Kaprizov finished a power-play sequence assisted by Hughes and Matt Boldy.
San Jose answered with its best attacking moment. With 12:11 elapsed in the second, Macklin Celebrini redirected Dmitry Orlov’s shot past Jesper Wallstedt’s blocker, with Will Smith credited on the play. Celebrini supplied six of the Sharks’ 24 shots and logged 24:59, giving San Jose a clear offensive center of gravity. The Sharks had produced an even-strength goal to answer Minnesota’s power-play opener.
That reprieve lasted 2:04. Jacob Trouba was penalized for interference at 12:59, and Maxim Shabanov restored Minnesota’s lead at 14:15 by finishing near the left post after Kaprizov’s pass across the power-play formation. San Jose had repaired the first-period damage, then gave the Wild another special-teams opportunity before it could build on the tie.
The penalties explain part of the result, not all of it. Minnesota went 2-for-5 with the man advantage, while San Jose went 0-for-3. Yet the Wild also scored twice at even strength.
Hughes’ goal was the important one, because it left San Jose chasing two goals instead of one. Zach Bogosian added the other at 13:58, scoring his first of the season with a slap shot after collecting a rebound along the right-side boards and sending it into the far corner.
Those even-strength goals separated Minnesota’s attacking ceiling from San Jose’s. Hughes finished with one goal and two assists in 31:00, and Kaprizov recorded one goal and three assists while contributing to all four Minnesota goals. Boldy put seven shots on net.
The Wild did not depend on one repeated pattern: Kaprizov converted a two-man advantage, Shabanov finished a backdoor power-play chance, Hughes manufactured a shooting lane, and Bogosian struck from a rebound.
