ST. PAUL, Minn. — Pavel Buchnevich scored with 3:39 remaining in regulation, lifting the St. Louis Blues to a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night and snapping a 10-game road losing streak.
Kirill Kaprizov scored for Minnesota, tying Marian Gaborik for the most goals in Wild franchise history with 218—doing so in 122 fewer games. But it wasn’t enough to prevent the Wild from losing their second straight after a six-game winning streak.
How It Happened
After a scoreless first period, Kaprizov broke through late in the second, tipping in a pass from Matt Boldy on the power play. It was his 34th goal of the season and sixth in seven games.
But the Blues answered quickly. Less than two minutes later, Logan Mailloux beat Filip Gustavsson with a wrist shot from the top of the right circle for his first goal in 25 games, tying the score at 1-1.
With the game still deadlocked in the final minutes, Buchnevich took a backhand feed from Jimmy Snuggerud and fired a wrist shot from near the right dot past Gustavsson, extending his scoring streak to five games.
Alexey Toropchenko added an empty-net goal to seal it.
Goalie Duel
Joel Hofer was solid in net for St. Louis, stopping 22 shots for his second win of the season. Gustavsson finished with 21 saves for Minnesota.
It marked the first time in 42 games this season that the Wild lost when allowing three or fewer goals in regulation.
Key Returns and Injuries
Blues center Robert Thomas returned to action after missing 13 games with a lower-body injury and a minor leg procedure. He logged an assist on Mailloux’s goal.
Minnesota left wing Marcus Foligno sat out with a lower-body injury. Coach John Hynes said before the game it’s unclear whether Foligno is day-to-day or facing a longer absence.
What’s Next
St. Louis (24-30-6) travels to Seattle to face the Kraken on Wednesday.
Minnesota (35-18-7) hosts the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.
