Despite 52 saves from Devan Dubnyk, Wild falls in OT to Carolina

The text on the video board was different, looking like lettering out of the Pac-Man arcade game — a nod to the 1980s-themed night at Xcel Energy Center.

But the scoreboard wasn't malfunctioning when it showed the Wild tied with the Hurricanes despite getting overwhelmed on the shot chart.

Carolina reached 30 before the Wild had double digits, an accurate indictment on the action. The Hurricanes were crisper, cohesive and consistent in their pressure.

An admirable — and sometimes acrobatic — performance by Devan Dubnyk was the reason why more of those pucks didn't tumble into the net, and yet the Wild still earned the result befitting of its effort.

Actually, it probably received better in banking a point from a 5-4 overtime loss to the Hurricanes in front of an announced 18,715 that dropped the team to 1-1-2.

"The first two periods were actually embarrassing," coach Bruce Boudreau said.

Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho scored 2 minutes, 57 seconds into the extra period on Carolina's 57th shot, which is the most given up by the Wild in franchise history — eclipsing the previous record of 56 from the Bruins on Nov.8, 2001. The Wild had 23 shots.

Credit Dubnyk for keeping the Wild within striking distance.

He made 19 first-period saves, including seven on the penalty kill, and the only puck that eluded him came on a deflection off center Jordan Staal's knee at 8:12.

Dubnyk made 52 saves, tying his career high.

"I know if I just stay in there and make the next stop, whatever one it is, I know at some point we're going to make a push to get back in," said Dubnyk, whose best save might have been a diving attempt that caught a piece of the puck.

Later in the first, the Wild scored its first power-play goal of the season.

The Hurricanes had nine power plays.

"It was one of the craziest penalty games I've ever seen," Zucker said. "But, especially me, getting the extra on my call, that can't happen. I've got to be better than that. It was definitely a lot of emotion. A bit of an up-and-down, crazy game, but I can't lose my cool like that."

In the third, Zucker had a chance at redemption on the power play and took it.

After the Wild tied it only 1:20 into the period when Spurgeon whipped a backhand from the slot past Hurricanes goalie Curtis McElhinney, Zucker capitalized at 5:41 on a one-timer.

The emergence of the power play, which finished 2-for-5, was encouraging, but the Wild's penalty trouble did catch up with it.

The Wild did secure a late lead when winger Mikael Granlund pounced on a loose puck deep in Carolina's zone with 4:13 left in the third period, but the team couldn't hold onto it — a fate it was likely destined for after such a disastrous beginning.

"We probably shouldn't have been in that position to start off with," Boudreau said.