The Nashville Predators headed north for a high-stakes game in the Twin Cities. The Minnesota Wild were working to defend their wild-card spot from the Preds, right behind them in the standings; the Preds, meanwhile, were—in theory—working to claim it.
Minnesota got out to a strong start. Jeremy Lauzon drew a penalty by falling down and the Preds got an early chance on the power play, but Joel Eriksson Ek got a phenomenal shorthanded chance on the breakaway and caused Juuse Saros to lose his stick making the save, setting the Wild up for an extended and nervewracking shorthanded sequence.