The ice was divided like a black and white cookie. Jubilation at one end of the ice and crushing disappointment at the other. Barbashev stomped his way to the edge of the blue ice and finished off a heavy forecheck shift to shovel the puck past Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson for a 4-3 Vegas win.

If the Vegas Golden Knights don’t quickly find an answer to neutralize Minnesota Wild first-liners Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, their aspirations for a second Stanley Cup championship in three years will be over.