Although the Wild had the edge in rest, not playing since their 5-2 win over Vancouver on Saturday, they weren’t skating circles around the Predators.
They only escaped the first period ahead because Kaprizov weaved a wide-open shot through traffic on the power play at 10:44 for his eighth goal of the season on the Wild’s second of three total power plays. Nashville, meanwhile, hit two posts.
But the Predators were more accurate in the second.
They tested Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson often, including on two power plays. Their best look, however, was a 2-on-0 break after Tyler Pitlick failed to get the puck out of the Wild’s zone. The Predators went the other way, with Michael McCarron setting up former Gopher Matthew Wood for the tap-in at 5:16.