Wild's Veilleux displays early scorer's touch

If Marian Gaborik's contract extension talks fail with the Wild, hey, there's always Stephane Veilleux.

The Wild checker, who served as his own agent this offseason, scored two goals Tuesday night -- one to force overtime, the other with 24 seconds left in overtime to lift the Wild to a 3-2 exhibition victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

"As an agent, it's easier to sell a goal scorer," goalie Niklas Backstrom yelled at Veilleux in a jovial postgame locker room.

Veilleux, who buried Martin Skoula's rebound early in the third period, whipped Mikko Koivu's pass by goalie Corey Crawford from 40 feet in OT as the Wild improved to 3-1 in the preseason.

"I think that was my first[overtime] shift," said Veilleux, who scored a career-high 11 goals last season and has a team-high three this preseason. "I felt I was playing summer hockey. It felt good to play with the puck a little bit."

But coach Jacques Lemaire joked after, "It's a confidence builder, but I hope he doesn't think he'll score as much as Gaby."

Speaking of Gaborik, he made his preseason debut following a quadriceps injury. It allowed Lemaire to unveil the Wild's potential first line of Andrew Brunette, Koivu and Gaborik, and they stayed together all night.

"It's going to take some time to get used to," said Koivu, who played 26 minutes. "With Bruno, we have to get the pucks to him in the offensive zone. We all know he can make plays. It's about timing. It won't happen right away. But I feel comfortable with them."

Said Brunette, who hasn't played with Gaborik since 2004 after three years in Colorado: "It felt a little awkward. I have to kind of alter my game. Gaby's so quick, so up in the play, I've got to find open space for him to skate into. I have to get my thinking back to that."

Gaborik, who played 24 minutes, showed flashes of his incomparable speed and was strong on the backcheck, but he was rusty.

"I have to get my legs and hands back on the same page," Gaborik said.

Already without defenseman Marek Zidlicky because of a sore ankle, the Wild lost defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron in the second period after he broke his nose in a fight with Kyle Beach.

It was Bergeron's third fight in three games. Strangely, his only NHL fight came during his rookie year in 2002-03.

"He's got to stop fighting. Just play the game," Lemaire said.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard (back) and Brent Burns (elbow surgery) are expected to make their preseason debuts tonight against Buffalo.

Tyler Cuma, the Wild's 2008 first-round pick, logged 22 minutes Tuesday and will earn a third exhibition game tonight. But he still will be returned to his junior team, Ottawa, barring major injuries to Wild blue liners.

The Wild is full on the blue line, and the Wild is not going to ask an 18-year-old to defend against top NHL power forwards who reside in the Northwest, such as Jarome Iginla, Erik Cole and Ryan Smyth.

It's uncertain when Cuma will be ready for the NHL. At next training camp, he will be 19; Nick Schultz is the only teenage defenseman to ever play for the Wild (Burns was a forward).

But Cuma's willing to be patient, and his main goal this season is to make Canada's roster for the world junior championships.

"And the tournament's in Ottawa, where I play, so it would be a dream and it's just an honor to be considered to be part of such an unbelievable team," Cuma said.

• Colton Gillies, looking to make the team as a 19-year-old, got payback four days after Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell knocked out one of his teeth with an elbow. Gillies scored in the first period.

• Lemaire unveiled his likely checking line of Veilleux, James Sheppard and Antti Miettinen. Miettinen struggled dramatically, and Lemaire said, "I'm looking for him to be not a good checker, a great checker."

• The 10 players the Wild placed on waivers cleared Tuesday.