Kaprizov's two quick goals force overtime, but Wild loses 3-2 to Vegas

Rivalries are usually built in the playoffs, but the Wild and Golden Knights started laying the groundwork in their last regular-season clash before a potential first-round series.

The bad blood drew real blood, a chippy slugfest that eventually turned into yet another third-period rally for the Wild that fizzled 3-2 in overtime Wednesday night at Xcel Energy Center – a Vegas win that widened the Golden Knights' lead atop the West Division to five points over the No.3 Wild.

Alex Pietrangelo scored the decisive goal on a one-timer 1 minute, 53 seconds into the extra session, this after Reilly Smith tied the game at 2 for Vegas on the power play at 15:44 of the third.

Before that, Kirill Kaprizov scored twice in 2:10 earlier in the period to give the Wild the lead briefly.

Kaprizov first batted the puck past Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury at 11:13 and then pounced on a loose puck off a faceoff at 13:23 for his team-leading 26th goal. This was the rookie's fourth multi-goal game of the season, and he extended his point streak to four games – a run in which he has four goals and two assists.

The first goal was Kaprizov's third game-tying goal in his last four games, pulling the Wild even with the Golden Knights after they opened the scoring on a 2-on-1 finish by Chandler Stephenson 8:30 into the second period.

And that's essentially when the hockey game started; the first period was more like a boxing match.

Round 1 was a full-blown line brawl, a fracas that started after Kaprizov was hit from behind into the boards by Vegas' Nicolas Hague. Marcus Foligno and Jordan Greenway immediately went after Hague, who emerged from the battle with blood splattered on his jersey, and then Kaprizov got into a scuffle with Zach Whitecloud.

Foligno and Kaprizov received roughing minors, Whitecould was assessed a double-minor for roughing and Hague was penalized two minutes for boarding.

Later in the period, on Foligno's first shift back in action, he fought Hague – a heavyweight tussle that sent both players back to the penalty box for five minutes.

And then before the first ended, Ryan Hartman and Brayden McNabb shoved each other in front of the net before McNabb knocked Hartman to the ice. Each player was dinged with a roughing penalty; Hartman was also dealt a bloody nose.

The rough stuff quieted down in the second, and that's when Vegas broke the stalemate.

Mattias Janmark picked the puck off Matt Dumba and set up Stephenson for the one-timer.

In its previous three games, the Wild overcame each of its third-period deficits – including Monday when the team stunned the Golden Knights with two goals 26 seconds apart in the final 2 minutes to rally 6-5.

And the team stuck with the same script in the rematch despite missing Kevin Fiala, one of the architects for those late-game pushes.

Fiala picked up two goals and four assists in his last three third periods in addition to scoring the overtime winner on Saturday in a 4-3 victory against the Blues. But he was scratched Wednesday, missing the game due to a lower-body injury.

His absence was noticeable, particularly on the power play, which went 0-for-3. Vegas was 1-for-3.

Cam Talbot finished with 31 saves; one of his better stops came in the third period, a glove save on Golden Knights captain Mark Stone. Fleury had 26, passing Roberto Luongo to move into sole possession on the NHL's all-time wins list for goalies with No.490.

Overall, the Wild ended up going 5-1-2 against Vegas in the eight-game matchup. And although seeding in the West Division hasn't been finalized, it's possible the two teams reunite in the playoffs.