MINNEAPOLIS — The Wild's funk followed them home.
After getting swept on their last road trip, the Wild were worse at Xcel Energy Center where they were throttled 5-1 by the Golden Knights on Thursday in front of 18,797 to drop three in a row at the outset of a pivotal seven-game homestand.
Overall, the Wild have lost six of their last eight to just barely remain in a playoff position; with 58 points, they currently occupy the last wild-card seed in the Western Conference.
Vegas never trailed the Wild, but the Golden Knights transformed their control into chaos with three goals on five shots in 2 minutes, 26 seconds during the second period.
After the Wild cut their deficit to 2-1 on the power play, Paul Cotter one-timed in a Jack Eichel pass at 10:47 to capitalize on a 2-on-2 look that started out as an odd-man rush.
At 12:53, Reilly Smith was slashed by Alex Goligoski during a breakaway and was awarded a penalty shot that trickled through Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The Wild also faced a penalty shot on Wednesday in their 4-1 loss at Dallas, with Filip Gustavsson denying the attempt.
Then only 20 seconds after Smith scored and on Vegas' very next shot, Eichel wired the puck by Fleury, who smacked his stick against the post after the goal and then tossed it to center ice. Eichel finished with a goal and assist, while Jonathan Marchessault picked up two assists.
Fleury, who played out the rest of the second before getting replaced by Gustavsson for the third, exited with 18 saves; Gustavsson had eight stops in relief after turning aside 33 pucks the previous night.
But the Wild aren't only having issues keeping the puck out of their net: Their scoring struggles are an eyesore that keeps festering.
This was the second consecutive game the team did not convert at even strength; out of the last 16 goals the Wild have tallied, only five have come at 5-on-5 (the fewest in the NHL since Jan. 19).
Vegas didn't have that problem.
Nicolas Roy's shot sailed five-hole on Fleury only 7:07 into the first period. That lead doubled 2:41 into the second on an Alex Pietrangelo shot that got by Fleury after a Marcus Foligno turnover.
The Wild appeared to earn back some momentum at 4:37 when they finally pushed a puck by Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson.
During their first of two power plays, Kirill Kaprizov buried a rebound for his team-leading 29th goal that extended his point streak to eight games. With 14 power play goals, Kaprizov matched his career high set last season. He's also one away from tying the single-season franchise record established by Brian Rolston in 2005-06.
As for this season, only Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl (17) and Connor McDavid (16) have more power play goals than Kaprizov.
Joel Eriksson Ek's assist on the play was the 100th of his NHL career.
But that's as competitive as this clash would get, with Vegas running away only minutes later. None of the Golden Knights' goals came on the power play (0-for-1).
Thompson turned aside 23 shots before he also left the action after getting hurt in the third period. Adin Hill took over, making four stops.
