Mats Zuccarello scored the decisive goal midway through the second period and added an assist as the Minnesota Wild edged the Seattle Kraken 4-3 on Tuesday night.
Zuccarello’s goal, set up by Frederick Gaudreau and Marcus Johansson at the 8:22 mark of the second, gave the Wild a 4-1 advantage, ultimately being the game-winner.
Frederick Gaudreau and Jared Spurgeon also contributed a goal and an assist for Minnesota, while Vinnie Hinostroza opened the scoring on a power-play goal. Filip Gustavsson was sharp in net, stopping 33 shots.
Seattle responded late in the second period with goals from Brandon Montour and Shane Wright, who came on a power play, to cut the deficit to one. Adam Larsson also found the net for the Kraken, while Joey Daccord finished with 16 saves.
Takeaways
Wild: Minnesota has split its last 10 games (5-5-0) and remains in fourth place in the Western Conference. Forward Ryan Hartman returned from an eight-game suspension for a head-slamming incident and picked up Spurgeon’s first-period goal assist.
Kraken: Seattle continues its inconsistent stretch, now 4-5-1 in its last 10 outings. Despite Montour’s late goal in the second, the Kraken couldn’t carry that momentum into the final period.
Key Moment
With Seattle trailing 4-2 early in the second, Filip Gustavsson came up big, stopping Eeli Tolvanen’s penalty shot at 4:21. The crucial save kept Minnesota’s lead intact, and Gustavsson remains perfect on penalty shots in his career, stopping all four he’s faced.
Key Stat
Zuccarello recorded his 79th career multi-point game with the Wild, tying Zach Parise for the fourth-most in franchise history.
Up Next
- Wild: Travel to Vancouver to face the Canucks on Friday night.
- Kraken: Head to Nashville to take on the Predators on Thursday night.
