ST. PAUL, Minn. — How little the Minnesota Wild are scoring would be a bigger issue if they weren’t giving up so few goals.

But minimum production keeps yielding maximum results.

The Golden Knights were the latest to fall into the Wild’s less-is-more trap, with the Wild eking by Vegas 3-2 in overtime Sunday night at Grand Casino Arena to sweep their weekend back-to-back.

Overall, the Wild have won four of their last five games, and their 6-1-1 run since the start of November is tied for first in the NHL.

Kirill Kaprizov broke a 2-2 tie on a 4-on-3 power play with 11 seconds left in overtime, and goaltender Filip Gustavsson turned in a 23-save effort.

Yakov Trenin and Joel Eriksson Ek also capitalized for the Wild, who downed the Anaheim Ducks 2-0 the previous night.

In all six of their victories this month, the Wild (9-7-4) have allowed two goals or fewer. Twice backup Jesper Wallstedt has shut out the opposition, including 2-0 against the Ducks on Saturday.

Their three goals were the Wild’s most since a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Nov. 7.

How it happened

Both teams have changed since their first-round playoff match last season that the Golden Knights won in six games, but the tight-checking nature of this rivalry resumed.

A fortuitous bounce helped the Wild capitalize first, as Marcus Johansson’s pass up the boards caromed off Vegas’ Brett Howden and across the zone to Mats Zuccarello, who set up Eriksson Ek for a back-post tap-in at 4:49 of the first period.

It was the ninth straight game the Wild opened the scoring, a franchise record.

But the Golden Knights responded on the power play when Pavel Dorofeyev buried a rebound off a Mitch Marner shot with 4:46 left in the first.

As if the Wild’s stinginess wasn’t enough of an indicator they’re getting back to their bread and butter, their next goal hammered home the point: After the depth line of Trenin, rookie Danila Yurov and veteran Marcus Foligno gained Vegas ice and established a forecheck that flustered the Golden Knights, Trenin banked the puck in off goalie Carl Lindbom (24 saves) from the goal line 9:05 into the second period for his first goal of the season.

Turning point

The Golden Knights power play converted again 6:35 into the third on a seeing-eye shot by Reilly Smith to go 2 for 4.

But the Wild didn’t fall apart and after Shea Theodore hooked Matt Boldy in the waning seconds of overtime, the Wild rolled out an all-forward setup that saw Zuccarello hand off to Kaprizov for a one-timer and his 11th career OT goal; the power play went 1 for 4.

What made the finish even more impressive was how shorthanded the Wild were: Ryan Hartman exited early; the Wild were already without injured forwards Marco Rossi and Vladimir Tarasenko.

Key stat

This five-game point streak for the Wild is a season high.

What it means

The Wild offense cooling off isn’t a problem so long as their defense stays hot, and the tells for sustaining this crackdown on goals are encouraging.

First, the Wild are getting quality goaltending from both netminders, with the timeliness of their saves standing out; the Wild aren’t flinching at every pressure point. They haven’t been tagged with a 5-on-5 goal since that Islanders game.

The penalty kill hasn’t been perfect, but its current 18 for 21 clip is a factor.

And while the Wild’s execution hasn’t been overpowering, they are taking the right steps with the puck to not only generate chances but also preserve their positioning so they don’t get caught if the puck goes the other way.

Up next

This five-game homestand comes to an end Wednesday in a nationally televised, late-night puck drop against the Hurricanes.

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