Minnesota 4, San Jose 3
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, October 30, 2014
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees:
Brad Meier, Kyle Rehman
Linesmen:
Brian Mach, Bryan Pancich
Attendance:
18633
By SportsDirect Inc.
Wild 4, Sharks 3 (SO): Captain Mikko Koivu scored in both regulation and the shootout before Jason Pominville tallied in the third round as Minnesota overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to win the opener of its three-game homestand.
Darcy Kuemper (25 saves) denied Tommy Wingels on a partial breakaway late in the third period before the teams skated through a fruitless overtime. Koivu scored on a backhand shot to answer Logan Couture's first-round tally before Pominville's wrister sailed over the glove of Antti Niemi (43 saves).
Kyle Brodziak scored twice over a five-minute span in the third to record his 12th career multi-goal performance as the Wild improved to 4-0-0 at home. Thomas Vanek notched a pair of assists for Minnesota, which failed on its lone power-play opportunity to drop to 0-for-27 on the season.
Joe Thornton and Wingels each scored and rookie defenseman Mirco Mueller netted his first career goal for the Sharks, who finished 2-0-1 on their three-game road trip. Pavelski registered a pair of assists and former Wild defenseman Brent Burns added one to extend his point streak to a career-high six games.
With San Jose nursing a 2-1 lead, Pavelski intercepted an attempted pass by Minnesota defenseman Nate Prosser and skated up ice before Thornton converted the 2-on-1 rush at 1:37 of the third. Brodziak tipped Vanek's wrist shot from the slot past Niemi at 5:13 to trim the deficit before the pair combined again to forge a tie midway through the session.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Mueller's sharp-angle shot deflected off the stick of Minnesota LW Zach Parise and past Kuemper with 3:54 remaining in the first period to open the scoring. Wingels doubled the advantage at 4:20 of the second, but Koivu halved the deficit 4:20 later, breezing into the slot and converting LW Jason Zucker's feed. ... Sharks LW Barclay Goodrow registered two shots in his NHL debut. ... Wild C Erik Haula missed his second consecutive contest after he was blasted with an illegal hit to the head by New York Rangers D John Moore, who received a five-game suspension from the NHL for the incident.
Top Game Performances
San Jose |
|
Minnesota |
Joe Pavelski 2 |
Points |
Kyle Brodziak 2 |
Mirco Mueller 1 |
Goals |
Kyle Brodziak 2 |
Joe Pavelski 2 |
Assists |
Thomas Vanek 2 |
Tommy Wingels 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Antti Niemi .935 |
Save Percentage |
Darcy Kuemper .893 |
Antti Niemi 43 |
Saves |
Darcy Kuemper 25 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
San Jose
|
28 |
3 |
1-2 |
1-1 |
2 |
24 |
Minnesota
|
46 |
4 |
0-1 |
1-2 |
4 |
47 |
Upcoming Games
-
Minnesota will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Wild have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .667 after a loss.
-
San Jose will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Sharks have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.