In St Paul, the Minnesota Wild kept their unblemished record in tact when Ryan Hartman struck for the game-tying goal with 13 seconds left in overtime to edge the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday, 4-3.
“I knew as soon as I got it that there was a clear play to the net,” Hartman said, “and ‘Zuccy,’ obviously the vision he has, he got it to me, and I managed to stay onside for what felt like the first time all game. And yeah, I had a clear lane to the net.”
Cam Talbot made 21 saves t get the win.
The Two teams traded jabs most of the game with each scoring twice in the first period and once in the middle frame.
“Obviously, we’d like to start with a lead, but again we love our resilience,” Minnesota head coach Dean Evason said. “I think it’s just who they are, right? … We were happy with that end of it.”
Rickard Rakell scored twice, including a power-play goal, for Anaheim.
“We’re past the point of, ‘Hey we played hard and we got a point’ and to be happy with that,” Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins said. “That was last year. This year there’s just a different feeling around the team that we believe that we can, if we play the right way, that we can play with anybody and not only play with them, but win the game.
“We continue on. We will take the goods from [this game], but there’s still a ton to work on here.”
Troy Terry also scored for Anaheim.
Jared Spurgeon and Brandon Duhaime scored in the first period for Minnesota.
After Rakell ut the Ducks ahead, 3-2 in the second period, Jon Merrill tied the game at 3-3.
“We’re having a lot of fun as a group right now, it’s a good group of guys,” Merrill said. “… Winning helps all that, and we’re just looking to keep this streak going.
“There’s a lot of belief in our group, so I think whether we’re down or we’re up, the message is pretty much the same. Once we get to our game, which I think is the offensive zone, getting in on the forecheck, kind of seeking their D and our big, heavy forwards turning pucks over, and we kind of get the spin cycle going and we get things moving around in the offensive zone, we’ve had some success that way early on. So we know that once we get to that game, we can play with anyone in the League.”
John Gibson made 32 saves in the loss.
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