Gaborik hits a milestone as Wild ends skid

David Joles, Star Tribune

Minnesota's Todd Fedoruk moved the puck up the ice past Michael Handzus during Saturday's game at the Xcel Energy Center.

His 200th goal secured the victory and helped end a losing streak at five games.

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: March 17, 2008 - 1:07 AM

Print this story

WILD 2, LOS ANGELES 0

Up next: 6 p.m. Monday vs. Colorado Xcel Energy Center • TV: Vs. (830-AM)

More from Minnesota Wild

Curtain calls are usually saved for baseball.

But Saturday night, Wild captain Marian Gaborik received a standing ovation in the waning minutes, a token of appreciation from the sellout crowd for his 200th career goal. Gaborik's tally iced the Wild's 2-0 shutout over the Los Angeles Kings and ended Minnesota's five-game losing streak.

Gaborik obliged. He stood, he waved, he smiled, but he refused to do what Twins Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer do during their curtain calls -- tip his cap, or in this case, helmet. "Not a chance," said Gaborik, one day after his girlfriend, Sona, shaved his head following the worst haircut of his life.

He did give a few thousand fans a look when he was announced as the third star after the game, but otherwise only the national anthem caused him to remove that helmet.

"The fans were unbelievable," Gaborik said of the applause after he scored his 36th goal off a two-on-one with 4 minutes, 4 seconds left. "Very nice they'd cheer like that. It's cool. But most important, two points. It's been a while since we won."

How long had it been? Coach Jacques Lemaire couldn't "remember" the last time his team won. It was March 2, the last time the Kings came to town.

But the victory put the Wild into a tie with the Colorado Avalanche (84 points), although Minnesota technically took over the top spot in the Northwest Division because it has played one fewer game.

The Wild happen to play host to Colorado on Monday.

"We've played good games lately, but we couldn't get the two points," left winger Stephane Veilleux said. "It's fun here to get back on track with a good team effort."

In a blue-collar effort, Brian Rolston broke a 34-minute scoreless tie with 27th goal and franchise record-tying eighth winner. Niklas Backstrom, who recently has had no room for error (the Wild has scored 25 goals in the past 13 games), was error-free with 24 saves for his first shutout since Oct. 10.

"We were solid the whole 60 minutes," Backstrom said.

Veilleux and Branko Radivojevic, usually unsung, headlined a tremendous all-around game, both in shutting down L.A.'s star-studded Anze Kopitar-Michael Cammalleri-Dustin Brown line and playing an integral part in the Wild's 5-for-5, momentum-building penalty kill.

"They were the best players tonight," Lemaire said of Veilleux and Radivojevic.

The checking-line bookends were especially effective when center Mikko Koivu, who hopped between scoring and checking lines in the first 40 minutes, was cemented between Veilleux and Radivojevic in the third.

"Mikko's the franchise player, as far as I'm concerned," Rolston said. "We call him 'franchise' all the time because the kid's the real deal."

Added Lemaire, "I know [Koivu] wants to be on the scoring line all the time, but I just hope he'll take what I'm asking from him seriously and do his best because this is how he's going to help this team. He's the guy that can ... make [any] line go well."

Recent Minnesota Wild stories

Boogaard grows game, not goal total - March 17, 2008

Boogaard grows game, not goal total - The last time the Wild enforcer scored was 171 games ago (Jan. 7, 2006), but his next tally could be coming soon. More