The Wild kept their season-best win streak going in a nail-biter that could have been a rout.
Wild blow big lead in Dallas, but win 6-5 in shootout
The Wild led 5-1 in the third period before the Stars roared back to force the extra session. Mats Zuccarello, Kirill Kaprizov and Frederick Gaudreau scored for the Wild in the shootout, with Gaudreau's finish standing up as the clincher.
December 5, 2022 at 3:57AM
Despite squandering a four-goal, third-period lead, they outlasted the Stars 6-5 in a shootout on Sunday afternoon at American Airlines Center to sweep a weekend back-to-back and kick off a four-game road trip with their fourth straight victory.
"A good team that clawed back," the Wild's Ryan Reaves told reporters in Dallas, "but we found a way."
How the Wild won: Mats Zuccarello converted for the first time this season in the shootout, Kirill Kaprizov improved to 4-for-4 and Frederick Gaudreau posted his first game-deciding goal.
His backhander came after Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski scored for Dallas but Roope Hintz missed, his shot sailing through the crease after he recorded a hat trick in regulation.
Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 30 saves in his third consecutive victory, and the loss was absorbed by Stars backup Scott Wedgewood after he replaced Lakeville's Jake Oettinger to begin the third period. Wedgewood made 14 saves in relief.
Oettinger exited after surrendering four goals on 16 shots, getting stung mostly by the Wild's secondary scoring.
"It's huge," Fleury said. "We've been scoring a bit more too because of that, more guys contributing, more lines contributing."
Kaprizov had the game's first goal and his 16th of the season, a blistering shot on the power play with 4 minutes, 56 seconds left in the first period, but after that the Wild had four different players capitalize.
In total, 11 on the Wild picked up at least a point, with captain Jared Spurgeon and Reaves assisting on two goals apiece. This was Reaves' sixth career multi-point game, and he also had an assist on Saturday in the 5-4 shootout win vs. the Ducks.
As for Kaprizov, he tied the franchise records for longest point streak (12 games) and goal streak (six).
The winger also had a six-game goal streak last season. He's up to 19 points during his 12-game tear.
Turning point: The Wild needed extra time to fend off Dallas after the Stars responded to a second-period surge by the Wild with their own blitz.
Dallas erased a four-goal deficit in the third, a turnaround that took only 10:37.
"It was a rollercoaster," Reaves said.
Tied at 1 with the Wild after Hintz pounced on a rebound 6:58 into the second, the Stars collapsed the rest of the period.
Connor Dewar buried his second shorthanded goal and the Wild's NHL-leading fifth at 10:42 before Jake Middleton (13:17) and Jordan Greenway (13:32) delivered 15 seconds apart on back-to-back shifts. Greenway's tally was his first this season.
Then only 29 seconds into the third, Joel Eriksson Ek deflected in his 10th point during a six-game point streak that's one shy of his career high.
"Fortunate to get as big a lead as we did," Coach Dean Evason said, "because we needed it."
After Hintz tallied another at 7:12, Robertson potted his league-leading 23rd goal 38 seconds later to extend his point streak to 18 games. Mason Marchment was next, at 9:55, before Hintz notched the equalizer with 2:11 to go in the third for the hat trick.
"It's about just trying to survive and push back that momentum," Eriksson Ek said. "But we gave up a little bit too many chances to not score."
What it means: Although there's nothing textbook about the Wild's win streak, they keep finding a way to persevere.
Whether it was a late rally vs. Anaheim or the bend-don't-break strategy against a rested Dallas team that sits atop the Central Division, the Wild are showing their resilience and that trait hasn't always been visible this season.
Plus, there are positive developments in their play.
The team's depth has produced while the team has racked up at least four goals during the last four victories, and the power play has scored in a season-high six straight games after going 1-for-4 on Sunday; the penalty kill was 4-for-4.
Overall, the Wild have won six of their last seven and are 6-3-1 on the road with stops in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver to go on this trip.
The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.
The Wild prevailed 5-4 on Tuesday night, moving back into first place in the NHL with a hard-fought victory in their first trip to Utah. Matt Boldy scored the winner in the shootout.
