Wild claims OT victory on a goal by Gaborik

Bruce Bisping, Star Tribune

Wild's Brent Burns' shot got past Blues goalie Manny Legace for the first Minnesota goal.

Minnesota blew a 2-0 lead at home but battled back to cool off St. Louis and claim its third consecutive victory.

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: December 5, 2007 - 7:14 PM

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WILD 3, ST. LOUIS 2 (OT)

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With the Wild wanting to secure at least one point Friday night, the defensive-minded Stephane Veilleux replaced Marian Gaborik in the final minute of regulation.

The Wild got to overtime, before the offensive-minded Gaborik made sure to secure that second point with his second consecutive game-winning goal and 36th of his career in a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues.

With goalie Manny Legace cheating toward Eric Belanger on a 2-on-1 after Lee Stempniak's turnover, Gaborik scored on a wrist shot with 2 minutes, 39 seconds left in overtime, giving Minnesota a third consecutive victory for the first time since winning five in a row to open the season.

"I'm a great decoy," Belanger said. "He made the right play."

Gaborik was glaringly off the ice in the final 90 seconds of regulation, although Wild coach Jacques Lemaire denied deliberately sitting out the sometimes risky gamebreaker.

"I thought he was fine tonight defensively," Lemaire said, conceding, "When he's good defensively, and I'm confident when I see him play, he will [play] even more."

Gaborik seemed miffed by the decision, saying: "He's the coach. He makes all the decisions. I just have to go out there and work hard whenever he gives me ice. It's just good to get the extra point, especially at home. It was a tough battle."

The goal extended Gaborik's point streak against the Blues to 13 games (eight goals, 21 points).

"You have certain teams when the goals and points are coming, but they're a hard team to play against," Gaborik said. "We had to work hard for every chance we get."

The Wild, which blew a 2-0 lead, was facing one of the NHL's hottest and best defensive teams. The Blues, who had won seven of eight, had surrendered the league's fewest goals (49).

But the Wild jumped to a 2-0 lead on Brent Burns' two-man advantage goal and Brian Rolston's first goal since Nov. 3. Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom surrendered that lead in a six-minute span of the second period on goals by Stempniak and Brad Boyes, but he made up for it with a game-saving stop on Jamal Mayers' shorthanded breakaway late in the third.

"The good thing is we didn't stop playing," Backstrom said. "Instead we took one step up higher and turned the game around. That's how good teams respond."

The Blues' rally came after Rolston ended his scoring drought just nine seconds into the second, the fastest the Wild's captain ever scored to open a period.

Rolston took Belanger's pass inside the blue line, skated into the left circle and put every ounce of his 214-pound frame into this mammoth shot. It soared over Legace's glove for Rolston's first goal in 11 games -- his longest drought with Minnesota.

Rolston went 39 shots without a goal after scoring seven on his first 55 shots.

"It's nice to get that goal," Rolston said. "Obviously I haven't scored in a few games -- more than a few. They'll come in bunches now. There's no question, there's some relief. But deep down, I know [the goals] are going to be there."

The Rolston-Belanger-Pierre-Marc Bouchard line combined for 11 shots on goal, including seven by Rolston.

"We were due," Bouchard said.

Said Lemaire, "You could see it was the line that we had at the start of the season."