Wild gets relief at home, and important 2 points

Devan Dubnyk's jubilant reaction said it all: After giving up a late third-period goal to send Saturday's game to overtime, the Wild desperately needed the extra point that came with its 3-2 shootout victory over the ­Carolina Hurricanes.

"Going into a shootout right now, getting one point is not good enough for us. A lot of emotions there," ­Dubnyk, one game after being yanked in New Jersey, said after a 31-save performance and final shootout save to deny Chris Terry with the right pad.

Charlie Coyle and Zach Parise scored a pair of silky-smooth shootout goals as the Wild survived a scare from a road-weary Eastern Conference opponent. Most important, the Wild picked up its third victory in the past 14 games at Xcel Energy Center and moved within one point of the eighth-place Avalanche for the ­second wild-card spot.

Sunday night, the Wild plays in Chicago, and the Avalanche in Edmonton. Both teams have 10 games left, including a showdown in Denver in six days.

"When you see Colorado pick up two points [in Calgary on Friday], it's getting to that point of the year where it's really crunch time, and guys are trying to pay for it with that every inch," said David Jones, who in the second period scored his second goal with the Wild and first at home.

The Wild, 2-8-3 in its previous 13 games in St. Paul, wanted to keep things simple and not worry about impressing the hometown fans. For large chunks of the first two periods, the Wild almost seemed scared to make a mistake. The team lacked physicality, especially on the ­forecheck, which led to easy ­Carolina exits.

But coach John Torchetti was pleased with his team's structure, instructing players to stay "on the right side of the puck" after being a defensive mess two days earlier in Newark.

"If you're trying to cheat on the other side of the puck, now you're just chasing the game," said Torchetti, who sent a message across Thomas Vanek's bow by scratching the ­veteran. "We didn't have to chase the game."

One line setting an intense tone all game was the Nino Niederreiter-Erik Haula-Jones line. Elevated to the third line one game after moving up the lineup several times, Jones scored not long after a huge Jason Zucker hit along the Carolina bench jolted the soldout crowd and the body of Brad Malone.

Niederreiter forced Carolina into a center-ice turnover, then won a puck battle in the corner and a race for the puck behind the net. He spoon-fed Haula in the slot for a shot, then rebound and Jones' goal.

"Those guys are both really ­effective players," Jones said.

The long-awaited lead lasted a minute, 28 seconds. Rookie Mike Reilly didn't intercept a pass, then was caught for a 2-on-1 and eventual Terry goal. Reilly didn't play another shift.

Zucker scored 16 seconds into the third period though. Initiating contact with veteran Ron Hainsey, Zucker sprung a puck loose for a Coyle and Mikko Koivu cycle. Koivu's shot to the far side of the net hit Zucker in the midsection and he buried his second goal since Jan. 7.

But with 6:51 left, Jordan Staal tied the score when Dubnyk tried to paddle a deflected shot away from the front of the net. Instead, "it was tape-to-tape pass right on Staal's stick," Dubnyk said. "Obviously if I can do that over, I'd probably put it somewhere else."

The Wild was outshot 5-1 in overtime, but Dubnyk was huge, especially when he stayed with Elias Lindholm on a last-second breakaway.

"I didn't realize the clock was that low," Dubnyk said. "Mikko did a real nice job coming over at him. He makes a nice move, but Mikko put some good pressure on him."

Added Zucker, "It was two very-needed points."