Wild vs. Mammoth Recap: Eriksson Ek Shots and Spurgeon Under Cash

Wild 3, Mammoth 1. The game was scoreless until Joel Eriksson Ek's power-play goal at 15:04 of the 2nd. Kirill Kaprizov added another power-play goal 48 seconds into the 3rd, Maxim Shabanov made it 3-0 at 11:44, and Logan Cooley scored for Utah at 18:39. Minnesota outshot Utah 30-27 and scored twice on seven power plays. Jesper Wallstedt made 26 saves on 27 shots; Karel Vejmelka made 27 saves on 30. Two DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game.

What cashed

ALT: Joel Eriksson Ek 3+ shots on goal (+100 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Eriksson Ek had cleared 3+ shots on goal in 8 of his last 10 games and 16 of his last 20. At +100 the price implied 50%, against about 76% from his recent games. - What happened: He put 4 shots on goal in 21:21, including the power-play snap shot at 15:04 of the 2nd that opened the scoring, set up by Quinn Hughes and Kaprizov. He cleared the 2.5 line by 1.5 and logged 6:05 on the power play. - Worth watching: That power-play time on a night Minnesota drew seven power plays fed his volume. When a price sits near even money against a recent rate this high, it is the kind of gap we look for.

Jared Spurgeon under 1.5 shots on goal (-205 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Spurgeon had 1 or fewer shots in 7 of 9 games this season, 13 shots in total, and he plays off PP1 next to Quinn Hughes. - What happened: 0 shots on goal in 10:01 of ice time, with 0:13 on the power play and 2 blocked shots. He finished 1.5 under the line. - Worth watching: With almost no power-play time, his shot count depends on even-strength minutes, and those were light. The under stays worth a look while his role holds, but -205 was close to the -210 mark where we pass.

How the game played out

Special teams decided it. Minnesota's first two goals came on the power play, with Quinn Hughes assisting on both, while Utah went without a power-play goal on four chances. Utah won 62.0 percent of faceoffs and put 27 shots on net, but Wallstedt allowed only Cooley's late goal.

Trends to watch

• Minnesota's power play: 2 goals on 7 chances, with Eriksson Ek scoring one and Kaprizov involved in both.
• Eriksson Ek's usage: 21:21 with 6:05 on the power play, the role behind his shot volume.
• Wallstedt: 26 saves on 27 shots for a .963 save percentage, a strong night for Minnesota in net.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. More: the NHL board, all NHL recaps and how implied probability works.