Kirill Kaprizov scored first and assisted on the next two goals as the Minnesota Wild delivered the Colorado Avalanche their first defeat this postseason with a 5-1 victory in Game 3 of their second-round series.

The Buffalo Sabres have shed the burden of a 14-year absence from the Stanley Cup playoffs that set a dubious NHL record and surged toward their next big thing.

Matt Boldy scored on a deflection with 28.9 seconds left in the first overtime and the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 3-2 on Saturday in Game 4 to tie the first-round NHL playoff series.

Brett Howden scored 4:05 into overtime Tuesday night to give the Golden Knights a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild and put Vegas one game away from advancing out of the Western Conference first round.

Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek scored on a strong night for the second line, Mats Zuccarello added a power-play goal and the Minnesota Wild opened the season by beating former coach Dean Evason and the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2.

Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov each had hat tricks and three assists for the Minnesota Wild, who faced a three-goal deficit in the second period before storming back with six unanswered goals and hanging on for a record-filled 10-7 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

Marc-Andre Fleury took sole possession of second place with his 552nd career win in the NHL.

The Minnesota Wild have delivered a forceful and punishing performance to take the first-round NHL playoff series lead from the Dallas Stars.