(Pittsburgh) Nick Bjugstad had the deciding shootout goal and the Minnesota Wild saved themselves with a 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.
Bjugstad, who had 16 points in 45 games with the Penguins, beat Tristan Jarry with a good wrist shot. Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala also hit the shootout for the Wild.
The Minnesota Troop erased a two-goal delay in the final five minutes of regulation time to add a first point to their standings.
With goaltender Cam Talbot on the bench, Jared Spurgeon scored his second goal of the game with 4:20 left in the third period. Ryan Hartman forced an overtime with just a second to go.
Kaprizov also threaded the needle in regular time. Talbot blocked 35 pucks in front of the Wild’s net.
Kasperi Kapanen recorded a first career NHL hat trick but was stopped in a shootout. Jake Guentzel added a goal for the Penguins, who lost for the fourth time in five games.
Jarry turned back 36 shots in 65 minutes of play for the Pittsburgh Troop.