Wild 4, Golden Knights 2: Three in the First, Then the Kill

October 12, 2026 - Saint Paul - Three goals before the first intermission. Then the building went quiet for the wrong reason. Nico Sturm took a puck up high off Jared Spurgeon's shot through traffic, left with a trainer, and went to the hospital. The Minnesota Wild still beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 at Grand Casino Arena and ended a four-game Vegas winning streak.

Minnesota is 4-1-1. Vegas is 5-2-0. Shots were 28-23 Minnesota. Attendance was 17,566. Sturm is not seeded on AthX player pages, so the name stays unlinked. The injury still belongs in the story.

Quinn Hughes had two assists. Matt Boldy, Maxim Shabanov, Danila Yurov, and Joel Eriksson Ek scored. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 21 of 23. Rasmus Andersson and William Karlsson scored. Carter Hart stopped 24 of 27. Shabanov, Hart, and Rieger Lorenz are unlinked.

Boldy, then Shabanov, then Yurov at the back door

Boldy opened it at 11:50. His first shot hit a Vegas defender in the slot. He put in the rebound. Hughes and Olli Maatta on the play. 1-0. Hughes extended a season-opening point streak to six games, tied for the sixth-longest such streak by an American defenseman and the longest since John-Michael Liles in 2010-11 (nine games), the NHL recap said. It is also tied for second in Wild franchise history behind Andrew Brunette's seven in 2009.

Shabanov made it 2-0 at 14:32 on the power play, through traffic from the top of the right circle. Hughes the helper. First power-play goal of his career, the NHL recap said. The Associated Press recap said the shot bounced off Hart's blocker with Eriksson Ek in the crease. Minnesota has scored at least one power-play goal in each of its six games, tying the 2010-11 franchise record.

Yurov made it 3-0 at 16:57. Bobby Brink found him alone on the back door. Lorenz, a 2022 second-round pick, had the secondary assist for his first NHL point in his second game. Lorenz told NHL.com he felt jittery on the first two shifts. When the loose puck is there, that is his job as a forechecker. Lucky Bobby made an unbelievable play.

Sturm went down with 2:14 left in the first. Coach John Hynes told NHL.com he did not have a further update and confirmed Sturm was taken to the hospital. Precautionary. The smart thing, especially after what happened to Brock Faber. Faber sustained a skull fracture and had surgery after a puck to the head in a Sept. 25 preseason loss to Dallas. Hynes: the rink was dead silent. Wallstedt: very, very scary. Flashbacks to that preseason game.

Andersson from the point, Karlsson on a 2-on-1, then the empty net

Andersson cut it to 3-1 at 2:37 of the second, slap shot from the point, Tomas Hertl and Raphael Lavoie. Lavoie is unlinked.

Karlsson made it 3-2 at 9:25 of the third, a 2-on-1 with Brett Howden from the high slot. Mitch Marner the other helper. Brayden McNabb told NHL.com they cannot go down three against a team like that. Manage momentum. Take care of the puck.

Vegas's power play came up empty, including two looks in the third. Coach Ryan Craig told NHL.com the Wild have good sticks, killed clock in scrums, and when Vegas found a chance Wallstedt was there. The Associated Press recap said Minnesota outshot Vegas 23-11 through two periods, including 6-1 while short-handed, and went 5-for-5 on the kill (21-for-22 this season).

Eriksson Ek scored into the empty net at 18:38 from Kirill Kaprizov. 4-2.

Hynes told NHL.com the Boldy-Kaprizov-Eriksson Ek line has been very good in back-to-back games after the 4-1 in Florida on Saturday. Decisions with the puck. Tenacious. Lorenz also fought Jeremy Lauzon in the third, the Associated Press recap said. Lauzon is unlinked. Marner recorded his 60th assist with Vegas, fastest to that mark in franchise history, the NHL recap said. Jack Eichel had two shots. Vegas visits Nashville on Tuesday. Minnesota visits Winnipeg.

AthX Engine on an 18.80 special-teams night

AthX Engine (our projection and scoring system) scored Wallstedt at 9.00 (win, 21 saves, two goals against). Andersson is 6.90. Shabanov is 6.80. Karlsson is 6.80. Hughes is 6.70. Eriksson Ek is 6.30. Boldy is 5.80. Maatta is 5.70. Kaprizov is 4.90. Yurov is 4.10 after four PIM. Hart is 6.00 in the loss.

Minnesota's team line is 18.80. Vegas's regulation loss is 0.40.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a Wild club that just sent Sturm to the hospital and still killed five penalties, and for a Vegas group that started 3-0 down for the second time in three games. They are not the same number.

Track Boldy, Hughes, Wallstedt, and both clubs on the marketplace.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN box score, NHL.com recap, NHL.com scoreboard, ESPN NHL scoreboard. AthX Engine fantasy points scored from NHL gamecenter box 2026020089. Information only; not financial advice.*