Fiala, Parise moving up Wild all-time playoff lists

The least surprising outcome of the Minnesota Wild’s first two qualifying playoff games is Kevin Fiala notching three goals.

Fiala was as hot as any player in the NHL in the final month of the regular season. From Feb. 4-March 8 he tallied 14 goals (and 12 assists) in 18 games.

The 24-year-old left wing, in his first season with the Wild after having been acquired from Nashville late last season, finished with 23 goals and a team-high 54 points in the regular season.

Fiala potted one goal in Game 1 vs. Vancouver and added a pair of third-period goals in Game 2.

With three goals in two games, Fiala is already tied for sixth for most goals by a Minnesota player in a playoff series. Wes Walz and Marian Gaborik both have five against Vancouver in 2002-03, Gaborik had four vs. the Colorado in 2002-03, Mikko Koivu had four against the Avs in 2007-08 and Jason Pominville four in a series against Dallas in 2015-16. All five of those players appeared in at least six games.

Only two other Wild players have scored three goals in a series which lasted five games or less – Gaborik (three in five games vs. Anaheim in 2006-07) and Zach Parise (three in three games vs. Winnipeg in 2017-18).

Speaking of Parise, he had two assists in Game 2 on Tuesday night, the fourth time he’s had multiple assists in a playoff game. That tied him for the most games with 2+ assists in a postseason contest in franchise history, along with teammate Mikko Koivu. Both have done it four times.

Ryan Suter and Gaborik each had three multiple-assist playoff games. Eric Staal has two — both coming in this series against the Canucks.

Statistics courtesy Sportradar and hockey-reference.com