Vejmelka makes 26 saves, Hayton scores twice in Utah’s 4-0 victory over the Wild

ST. PAUL, MN – Karel Vejmelka turned in a stellar performance with 26 saves to record his first shutout of the season, leading Utah to a dominant 4-0 win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. Barrett Hayton scored twice, while Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse also found the net in Utah’s third consecutive victory. Defenseman Nick DiSimone tallied assists on both of Hayton’s goals.

Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson made 25 saves, but the Wild have now lost five of their last seven games.

Hayton kicked off the scoring early, helping Utah surge to a 2-0 lead in the first period, outshooting the Wild 16-5. He sealed the victory in the third period with a backhand goal off a rebound that Gustavsson couldn’t handle.

With the win, Utah is just two points shy of the second wild-card spot in the tightly packed Western Conference playoff race.

Minnesota, despite the return of star forward Kirill Kaprizov and captain Jared Spurgeon from long absences, struggled out of the gate. The Wild showed more intensity in the second and third periods, but Vejmelka was impenetrable, keeping them off the board for the full 60 minutes.

Next up, Utah travels to Winnipeg on Friday night, while Minnesota will host Calgary on Saturday night.