Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishLAS VEGAS — If you’re a Minnesota Wild fan, the most reassuring thing that was discernible to the eyes, and certainly the ears, on Monday was the mood of the players.After losing the chance to take a 3-1 lead in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history with Saturday’s overtime loss to Vegas, the mood was great on Monday, the spirits were jovial and the energy was high during an hour-long practice.This best-of-seven against the Golden Knights is now a best-of-three, with the Wild needing to win at least one game in Las Vegas, and the Wild remain confident, despite the wasted opportunity at home, that they can still win this series heading into Game 5 on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.“We know what we’re capable of, the type of players we have in this room and how we play as a team,” said young star Matt Boldy. “We’re playing well. We just have to keep going, keep growing and keep getting better and adding things to our game.”Added veteran Mats Zuccarello, “We’d like to be 4-0 and be on the golf course right now waiting for the next round but it’s the playoffs. But you expect it to be at least five, six, seven games, especially when you play a team like (Vegas). You know it’s going to be a long series if we can get some wins.“So, I think two teams playing well. We gotta keep it going and I think they think they gotta keep it going, too. Both teams make some adjustments and we’ll see how it goes.”Like the Golden Knights, who flew to Las Vegas after Saturday’s game, the Wild took a much-needed day off Sunday to rest and reset mentally. Several Wild players attended the Wolves’ exciting Game 4 victory over the Lakers at Target Center to take a 3-1 lead in their series.On Monday, the Wild got in a good practice at TRIA Rink before an afternoon flight.Coach John Hynes did some lineup tweaking heading into Game 5.While nothing is official, Marcus Johansson, who missed Game 4 with a lower-body injury, returned to practice and played the left side of a new second line with Ryan Hartman and Zuccarello. While the first and fourth lines remained the same — assuming Joel Eriksson Ek’s maintenance day Monday, which kept him out of practice, doesn’t preclude him from playing in Vegas — the new third line is Marcus Foligno with Freddy Gaudreau and Gustav Nyquist, who have been quiet in the series.
#mnwild lines w Eriksson Ek not skating*
Kaprizov-Shore*-BoldyJohansson-Hartman-ZuccarelloFoligno-Gaudreau-NyquistTrenin-Rossi-Brazeau
Brodin-FaberMiddleton-SpurgeonMerrill-Bogosian
Extras
Buium-Chisholm Ohgren, Hinostroza, likely Shore if he’s a placeholder for Ek
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) April 28, 2025But the big news in practice Monday was the indication that rookie defenseman Zeev Buium, who has one assist and two shots in the series, will not play in Game 5 and that veteran Jon Merrill will be inserted back onto the third pair with Zach Bogosian for his 38th career playoff game and series debut.It was clear in overtime on Saturday, when the coaches didn’t give Buium a single shift, including on a power play for a chance to win the game, that they felt the stakes were too high to put a 19-year-old playing his fourth NHL game in that position.The Buium-Bogosian pair rank 54th out of 56 defense pairs in the playoffs in expected goals against per 60 minutes (4.07, minimum 14 minutes).“Now you’re down to a best-of-three series,” Hynes said, “and the temperature gets turned up in a series, obviously, and you kind of really know what the style of game is going to be and things like that. So the stakes get high again.“So, it’s just trying to make sure that we’re doing what’s right for the team, what’s right for the player. And, as always, we try to make the best decision that we feel is going to give our team the chance to win, and that’s why we’re going through that process right now before we make a final decision.”The Wild also promoted rookie Liam Ohgren, who made his NHL debut at Vegas last season, from the minor-league practice to the big club. Ohgren, 21, had five points in 24 games with the Wild this season and had 19 goals and 37 points in 41 games for Iowa, including nine goals and 21 points in his final 19 games.While he’s not expected to play on Tuesday night, this is a way to integrate him with the group, and he conceivably could get action at some point in the series or later in the playoffs.Hynes is confident with the Wild’s mindset heading into Game 5.“I think it’s business as usual for us,” Hynes said. “We had an opportunity to win the game. We didn’t win the game. … And now it’s a best-of-three. I think for us, at this point in time, the two days (between games) is probably good for us. You get a little bit of a reset. It’s the first day they’ve had off in the whole series. And now I think they come back today energized.“We had a game plan for them, and now we move on to the next three. So I think from that standpoint it was beneficial, and we’ll be ready to go. … I mean, you look around the playoffs right now, I think there’s only two series that are 3-1. It’s parity, it’s hard. For us, it’s a race to four. It’s not a race to three. It’s a race to four, and we got as good an opportunity as anybody.”Here are six things we have learned about the Wild through four games in this series.Gustavsson can outduel HillAdin Hill has more playoff experience and has a Stanley Cup ring. But Filip Gustavsson has shown in this series that he’s capable of winning it for the Wild. He has been better than Hill overall, with 2.3 goals saved above expected through four games, according to MoneyPuck. Hill is at minus-3.7. Gustavsson gave Minnesota every chance in Game 4, making 42 saves, including some big ones in the third period.
Gustavsson with back to back massive saves! pic.twitter.com/u40FabnPGF
— Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 26, 2025Gustavsson said he was more nervous in his first playoff experience, two years ago against the Stars. He hasn’t been feeling that now, and his growth in handling tough goals or losses has been a difference-maker in establishing himself as the Wild’s No. 1 goaltender. Hill got pulled after giving up four goals in Game 3, though he looked much better in the Golden Knights’ win in Game 4. Had Hill not made a breakaway save on Yakov Trenin in the third period, the Wild would have had his team on the ropes.Gustavsson has been particularly strong on screened shots through traffic, which is important in the playoffs.
Gus 🚍 has been dialled in as the Wild look to take a 3-1 series lead today. He’s faced 23 ‘traffic’ shots – screens, rebounds, deflections. He’s stopped them all.Only goalie in the playoffs who’s faced more than 5 to have a perfect save %. pic.twitter.com/bVwFTwBCte
— Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) April 26, 2025The Wild can contain Eichel, StoneIt’s been one of the biggest storylines of the series. The Wild’s best players have been better than Vegas’ top guys, and that’s a key reason it’s a 2-2 stalemate. Kirill Kaprizov and Boldy have been dominant at times, with a combined eight goals and 14 points. Boldy had two goals in a Game 2 win and Kaprizov had two in Game 3.The Golden Knights’ best players, Mark Stone and Jack Eichel? Zero goals and two points.The Wild have been mostly matching up the Kaprizov-Eriksson Ek-Boldy line against Eichel, Stone and Ivan Barbashev. Jonas Brodin and Brock Faber have been the primary defense pair against them. But Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy switched up his lines midway through Game 4, hoping to provide a “spark” to Eichel and Stone. He broke up the two. And, to be fair to the Golden Knights, Game 4 was probably Eichel and Stone’s best of the series. Eichel had six shots on goal (13 attempts). Stone had four shots, and made a smart play in his assist on Tomas Hertl’s goal.
Golden Knights lines in practice
Pietrangelo isn’t on the ice, they have Korczak skating in his place.
Karlsson—Eichel—DorofeyevSaad—Hertl—StoneBarbashev—Roy—SmithPearson—Howden—Kolesar
Korczak—HanifinMcNabb—Theodore Hague—Whitecloud
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) April 28, 2025The Wild have outscored Vegas 3-0 at five-on-five with both Kaprizov and Eichel on the ice, per Natural Stat Trick. Minnesota’s expected goals percentage with Eichel-Stone on the ice is favorable, but it’s not dominant.Eichel tends to get better as series go on; in five career Game 5s, Eichel has up six points and is a plus-2.“It helps to get to the net, play my game,” Eichel said on Monday. “Maybe attack when I have the opportunity a little more. Give (the Wild) credit. They have been doing a good job. Obviously, I have to be better. Whether it’s creating off the cycle, whether it’s creating looks off the rush and generating things on my own or generating things for my teammates, just try to be more dynamic and make more of an impact offensively.”Cassidy said of Eichel: “I thought his game elevated in Game 4. You could tell in the second period and third period, he’s more vocal. He’s being more physical in the battles. I have no issue with Jack at all. He’s been the victim of some bad luck in terms of the plus-minus side. I’m not going to read too much into that number. …“Jonathan Marchessault didn’t score until … Game 3 vs. Edmonton (two years ago). You’re eight games in, and he won the Conn Smythe. Things can change. Sometimes, it doesn’t go your way early. You’ve got to help your team win and that’s what we’re asking Jack. .. He ain’t going anywhere.”Double standard for Rossi?It really feels as though the Wild came into the playoffs with a preconceived notion that undersized Marco Rossi wasn’t going to be able to function. This doesn’t feel like it’s about performance. One so-so game, and they decided Rossi couldn’t do it before he ever proved he couldn’t do it.They started him on the third line, immediately dropped him to the fourth line and have kept the skilled center there ever since despite the fact that he’s outperforming a number of forwards.
Marco Rossi finishes off the nifty setup from Trenin, evening up the score at 1 for Minnesota!#mnwild | #StanleyCupPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/7C3SkjGsIh
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) April 26, 2025Hartman was rightfully rewarded for his play on the fourth line in Game 1. It was a good read and adjustment by the coaches, but there has been no adjustment for Rossi (10:53 average ice time), for Trenin, who has played well yet has logged the second-fewest minutes (9:57 per game), or for Gaudeau and Nyquist, who have been disappointing.Rossi has scored two goals and an assist, has eight shots and won 46 percent of his draws in 43:30 of ice time. Yet Gaudreau continues to be in the top-nine despite zero goals, zero assists, one shot and winning 41 percent of his draws in 58:39 of ice time (14:40 per game).Gaudreau has a 26.42 percent Corsi For percentage. For skaters who have played a minimum of 20 minutes, that’s dead last in the NHL among 285 skaters. In the first two games, the Johansson-Gaudreau-Zuccarello line allowed the highest expected goals against out of any line in all eight playoff series, so it’s not like Gaudreau has been getting it done defensively.Nyquist, by the way, has zero points and one shot in four games and continues to be the least-proficient forward at even strength in the NHL all season.In Game 4, despite scoring in the first period for the second straight game, Rossi logged 4:40 of ice time through two periods and just over seven minutes through three. Asked why Rossi didn’t play the last 13:05 of the second period, Hynes pinned it on special teams even though there were only two penalties in that span (one by each team).It’s just nonsensical the way they’re treating the season’s second-leading scorer, and it could signal the beginning of the end in Minnesota for the pending restricted free agent.Not a lot of trust in BuiumIn Buium’s NHL debut, in Game 1, the Wild coaches threw him out on a six-on-five late in the game. He turned the puck over, Boldy had to respond by taking a penalty to stop an empty-net goal and the Wild ultimately lost the game.Afterward, Hynes explained the decision to put Buium in that situation so early in his career, noting that Buium is good in those spots and, if you’re playing Buium in a game like that, you have to put him in that situation.Fair enough. Makes sense.But in Game 4, after Buium’s double-minor high-sticking penalty on Stone turned the third period upside down and led to Vegas tying the score, Buium played three shifts in the third after coming out of the penalty box — but not a single shift in overtime.
Zeev Buium catches Mark Stone with a NASTY high stick and Stone is leaking bad 😳🤕 pic.twitter.com/c0NVZqt1J4
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 26, 2025Clearly, the coaches didn’t trust putting him on the ice in such a high-stakes, high-pressure situation. But it also caused Brodin and Jake Middleton to rotate as left D every other shift for 17 minutes, 26 seconds, and an exhausted-looking Middleton made the fatal error that resulted in Barbashev’s overtime goal.The Wild made their bed this series by playing Buium over Merrill and Declan Chisholm, but when you have to protect one of your defensemen to such a degree, it eventually proves problematic and likely catches up to you. It sure did in Game 4, and that’s why it appears as if the Wild are reacting by playing Merrill in Game 5.Special teams need spark The Wild were three minutes into killing Buium’s four-minute high sticking penalty during the third period in Game 4. They were doing a lot of things right, blocking shots, getting big saves by Gustavsson.But after a couple Gustavsson stops, there was a scramble in the slot. Boldy tried to swipe the puck out of harm’s way, but he partially fanned on it. And the puck went directly to Nicolas Roy, who scored the game-tying goal. It was one of two power-play goals given up by Minnesota in the game.
NEEDED IT! pic.twitter.com/M0NaN7tKkR
— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 26, 2025The Wild are 63.6 percent on the penalty kill during this series, 12th out of 16 playoff teams. If they’re going to win two of the next three games, that has to be better. A big reason the Wild won Game 3 was killing three penalties in the third period.“I think the kill’s in a really good spot,” Hynes said after Game 4. “A couple went in, even the one that went in, we had two opportunities to clear it. We just didn’t get some bounces tonight to be honest. Even on the kill in some of those. We got good saves, we had good attention to detail, we killed well. You come into a game like this, you look at the way we played, tonight you could arguably say there were a couple bounces that didn’t go our way, but I think when you look at it, the way we play and where we’re at in the series and where we’re going, just just stay with it, keep going.”The power play could be improved, too. They had a chance midway through overtime on Saturday but couldn’t convert. The Wild are 10th at 25 percent, with a couple of power-play goals by Kaprizov in their Game 3 win. Across the NHL, teams had converted 26.9 percent of their power plays through Sunday’s games, which is a record for a Stanley Cup playoffs since tracking began in 1977-78 (25.1 percent in 1980-81).With the Wild likely to sit Buium in Game 5, they’ll have to tweak their power play a little. Jared Spurgeon took over the point on the top unit during overtime on Saturday, with Faber on the second unit. Or, maybe they go back to using five forwards by elevating Johansson or Rossi.Hynes said the coaches were still determining which way to go.Foligno, Hartman as X-factors In this type of playoff series, the top players usually cancel each other out — although Kaprizov and Boldy have, so far, had the better of Eichel/Stone.What separates teams, especially late in a series, is secondary scoring. The Golden Knights have been among the deepest groups at forward in the conference. They’re getting contributions throughout their lineup, from Brett Howden to Roy.The Wild have seen impactful play from core players Hartman and Foligno. It’s not just the points, though Hartman has totaled four assists so far and Foligno has three goals in four games. They’re what teammates call “dogs,” relentless on the forecheck and physically abrasive. Clutch.
Marcus Foligno drills Nic Hague pic.twitter.com/CwQxik43kj
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) April 25, 2025And with Hartman centering the second line (with Johansson and Zuccarello) and Foligno on the third line (with Gaudreau and Nyquist), how they play could set a tone for Minnesota for the rest of the series.Hartman has bounced back after a “wake-up call” in February — his eight game suspension — and is playing his best hockey of the season. Foligno, coming off core muscle surgeries in back to back offseasons, is putting together a complete game — and isn’t just among the league leaders in hits.“It’s very important because I think the attributes he plays with is built for playoff time,” Hynes said of Foligno. “But he’s under control. When he finds time to get hits, he’s getting hits. When they’re not, he’s not chasing it. He’s not over-emotional. I think he’s really mentally engaged in the game. Physically engaged in the game. He’s playing the game, and the style of game with his puck play that sets him up to be able to be a strong player, and then when he’s getting his goals, he’s in and around the net front. So I think that combination and his mindset has allowed him to be a real factor for us.”(Photo of Filip Gustavsson and Zeev Buium: Matt Blewett / Imagn Images)
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