The Minnesota Wild picked up two points Sunday night in Anaheim with a 5-4 win over the Ducks in extra time.
Kevin Fiala potted his second goal of the game in the extra session for the winner.
“Guys just talked about how much we needed the two points and that we’ve got to bear down and go at them,” Fiala said. “With this group, over the last long stretch here, we certainly believe in ourselves to be able to do it.”
The victory moved the Wild into the first wild card spot in the Western Conference.
“I had a lot of time to just walk in, pick my spot,” Fiala said.
Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves to get the win.
“We need [points] everywhere and every way we can get them,” Dubnyk said.
Jakob Silfverberg struck for two goals for the Ducks, and Christian Djoos and Danton Heinen added single markers.
“We were not happy with our second period,” Wild head coach Dean Evason said. “We addressed it in between the second and third, and we tried to address it on the bench that we have to simplify our game, put pucks deep, not give them momentum, not turn the puck over. Not only were the coaches talking about that, the players, too.”
Alex Galchenyuk, Victor Rask and Mats Zuccarello also scored for the Wild.
“There were a lot of bouncing pucks,” Galchenyuk said. “It bounced right on my stick.”
[WATCH: All Wild vs. Ducks highlights]
Ryan Miller made 25 saves in the loss.
“You can tell there’s a real mutual love between [Rakell and Silfverberg],” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “It translates onto the ice when they play together.”
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