Wild best Blues 4-1 as Filip Gustavsson scores first goalie goal in franchise history

ST. LOUIS – The longer the Minnesota Wild aren’t at full strength, the more unfazed they seem by the situation.

Take their most recent performance.

Playing down a forward in their third game in four nights and still without their captain and best center, the Wild gutted out a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday at Enterprise Center in part – how else? – due to a clutch shorthanded goal by the penalty kill.

They’ll go into a much-needed three-day break a respectable 2-0-2.

Not only have the Wild yet to lose in regulation, but they also haven’t trailed in any period.

Setting the tone has been goaltender Filip Gustavsson, who blocked 27 shots from St. Louis in his sharpest start of the season before scoring into an empty net with 9 seconds left. It was the first goal by a goalie in franchise history.

Through three games, Gustavsson has denied 91-of-96 shots.

In front of him the Wild went with a less-is-more strategy on offense: They had only four shots in the first period against the Blues and just one in the second until the waning minutes of the period, but their 2-for-5 start – thanks to their special teams – gave the Wild all the cushion they’d need with Gustavsson so locked-in.

Ryan Hartman had the first goal on the power play 3 minutes, 50 seconds into the first period off a slick setup by Kirill Kaprizov, who chipped the puck around St. Louis’ Brayden Schenn at the Wild blue line before threading a backhand pass between a pair of Blues players for Hartman to skate in alone on goaltender Jordan Binnington (24 saves) and lift a shot over Binnington’s glove.

After the Wild looked fatigued in their 2-1 overtime loss on Sunday at Winnipeg when they were completing a back-to-back, the day off in between games appeared to have rejuvenated the team.

But the Wild didn’t have the same energy in the second, and the disconnect in their play was reflected in a lopsided shot counter.

St. Louis had the edge in shots (4-0) to start the second period, with the Wild snapping a nearly 9-minute drought after Frederick Gaudreau was whistled for an offensive-zone trip.

During the ensuing penalty kill, Marat Khusnutdinov sprung Jakub Lauko for a breakaway that Lauko converted at 7:52 for his first goal with the Wild and the team’s first shorthanded strike of the season.

But what made that penalty kill even more impressive was Gustavsson’s effort the rest of the Blues’ power play: He made his best stop of the night sliding across in time to stop Jordan Kyrou at the back post.

Kyrou did eventually bury a puck behind Gustavsson later during the power play, but a quick whistle overturned the goal.

The Wild finished 2 for 2 on the penalty kill, their first perfect game, while the power play went 1 for 5.

St. Louis did get another puck behind Gustavsson, but former Wild defenseman Ryan Suter’s windup flew into the net after time expired in the second period.

A much more assertive version of the Wild returned for the third period.

Only 46 seconds after puck drop, they padded their lead when Marco Rossi pounced on a Mats Zuccarello pass that deflected to him for Rossi’s first goal.

That finish became even more crucial after the Blues spoiled Gustavsson’s shutout bid with 9:50 remaining; after the Wild failed to clear the defensive zone, Mathieu Joseph flung a shot by Gustavsson from the right side.

But Gustavsson was airtight the rest of the way and even helped out on offense by a 164-foot empty-netter for his first NHL goal.

As for Kaprizov, he picked up two assists while getting double-shifted.

The Wild relied on 11 forwards and seven defensemen after captain Jared Spurgeon and center Joel Eriksson Ek didn’t join the team in St. Louis and winger Marcus Johansson was scratched.

Daemon Hunt made his season debut on defense.

Spurgeon is still considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury suffered Saturday in the 5-4 shootout loss to Seattle, and coach John Hynes expects to know more on Spurgeon’s status when the Wild get back to Minnesota.

Eriksson Ek has a broken nose from an elbow he took to the face Saturday and was expected to return to action against the Blues, but the team didn’t want him to travel. Johansson, who played Sunday despite being a game-time decision, didn’t suit up on Tuesday; he collided with the Kraken’s Jordan Eberle over the weekend.

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