Failure to capitalize on fast start dooms Wild in Game 2

Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason preached the importance of a good start and then watched his team go out and swarm the Golden Knights for the first 20 minutes on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.

The reward never came.

Minnesota outshot the Knights 17-10 in the first period and had seven high-danger chances while allowing just three, a dramatic reversal from Sunday’s series-opener when the Wild were dominated early on.

Yet they still found themselves in a scoreless tie after the first period of Game 2 and eventually lost 3-1 to even the first-round series.

“My gosh, we loved our start,” Evason said. “We loved the whole game. Not just our team, but the game was fantastic. They’re going to be like that the rest of the way. For sure, there was encouragement (with the start).”

It was a dramatic shift from the opener when the Wild struggled to get the puck out of their own zone early on. The Knights’ failure to capitalize on their quick start proved fatal in the opener and Minnesota suffered a similar fate on Tuesday.

Instead of opening up a lead, the Wild allowed the Knights to settle into the game.

Defenseman Matt Dumba finally scored for Minnesota midway through the second period, the first regulation goal of the series, but Jonathan Marchessault had an immediate answer.

Marchessualt’s equalizer snapped Minnesota goaltender Cam Talbot’s shutout streak at 95:45, the second-longest such run in franchise history.

Alex Tuch gave the Knights their first lead of the series late in the period and, suddenly, the Wild were trailing despite a 2.51-1.64 edge in expected goals at the time, according to Money Puck.

“I think if we play like we did at the start of the game there, we’re going to be just fine,” Dumba said.

The Wild were hoping to take a 2-0 lead in a playoff series for the first time in franchise history.

Instead, they had to settle for a split and the comfort of taking home-ice advantage back to Xcel Energy Center where they are 6-2 against the Knights.

“We’re not proving anything to ourselves,” Dumba said. “We know the level we can play at. I think it’s more you the media putting us as underdogs. You’re going to see a different team at home. We’re a different beast.”

Dumba not only had the lone goal for the Wild and blocked eight shots.

Minnesota also got a big effort from forward Kevin Fiala, who had eight shots on goal in the loss and was all over the ice. It was tied for the second-most shots ever by a Wild player in a postseason game.

The Wild know they must finish some of those chances if they want to win the series after scoring just one regulation goal in two games in Las Vegas.

“We’re going to need to score more than one a night to beat this team in a seven-game series,” forward Nick Bonino said. “They’re dangerous offensively. Even with our great goaltending we know they are going to score some goals.

“We need to get to (Marc-Andre Fleury) and get some on him.”

They will try to do that at home starting with Game 3 on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.