Wild 6, Avalanche 3
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- In what felt like a playoff game for both teams, the Minnesota Wild took a big step toward post-season play Tuesday, beating the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 with a trio of third period goals.
Center Charlie Coyle scored twice in the final period for Minnesota, which trailed early, then got goals from right winger Nino Niederreiter, left winger Jason Pominville and center Erik Haula to take a 3-1 lead. Colorado rallied to tie, but Coyle's game-winner plus an empty-net goal -- Niederreiter also scored an empty-netter -- pulls Minnesota even with the Avalanche in the race for the West's final playoff spot.
Goalie Devan Dubnyk had 30 saves for the Minnesota (29-25-10), which improved to 3-0-1 vs. the Avalanche this season.
Right winger Jarome Iginla scored early for the Avalanche (32-29-4), who trailed by a pair before defenseman Chris Bigras and left winger Cody McLeod spurred a rally. Calvin Pickard took the loss in goal with 15 saves in the final 40 minutes. He replaced starter Semyon Varlamov who had nine saves but allowed three goals in the opening period.
Coyle's first goal, his career-high 20th of the season, came on a tap-in after left winger Zach Parise froze Pickard on the right post, then found Coyle uncovered at the left of the net. With the win, Minnesota improved to 6-3-0 under interim head coach John Torchetti. Coyle hit an empty net in the final two minutes to seal the win. And Niederreiter got another empty net goal in the final minute.
Left winger Mikkel Boedker, acquired by Colorado in Monday's trade with Arizona, had an assist in his Avalanche debut.
The game was less than a minute old when the Avalanche took the lead. Niederreiter was whistled for tripping just 12 seconds into the game, and on Colorado's first power-play shift, Iginla blasted a shot from the top of the left circle that found a tiny gap under Dubnyk's right arm. It was the 608th goal of Iginla's career, tying him with Dino Ciccarelli for 17th place on the NHL's all-time goal scoring list.
Niederreiter made up for his penalty near the midway point of the period to knot the score. The play began at the far blue line, where Pominville picked the pocket of a Colorado defender then sprung Niederreiter with a quick pass. Niederreiter fooled Varlamov low on the blocker side.
A mere 61 seconds later, Niederreiter's pass led to Pominville's breakaway goal, giving Minnesota its first lead. And Haula split a pair of Colorado defenders for a breakaway late in the period, tucking a shot between Varlamov's knees for a 3-1 lead. It was the career-best ninth goal of the season for Haula.
Pickard started the second period and was greeted with a flurry of shots right away, but got some goal support when Bigras made it 3-2 with his first NHL goal. He was alone in the left circle after a rink-wide pass from center Matt Duchene and snapped a high shot past Dubnyk's blocker.
McLeod made it 3-3 by capping off a two-on-one rush to the net. The puck glanced off McLeod's skate before sliding over the line, prompting a review to confirm it was a good goal. McLeod had gone the previous 23 games without a goal.
NOTES: With D Eric Gelinas joining the Avalanche after Monday's trade with the New Jersey Devils, the team made D Andrew Bodnarchuk a healthy scratch. ... Tuesday's game was the first one Minnesota has played in nearly 10 years without G Niklas Backstrom on its roster. The Wild's last game without Backstrom in their system was on April 15, 2006. He was traded to the Calgary Flames on Monday. ... Wild D Jonas Brodin, recently activated off the injured reserve list, skated in practice on Tuesday but was not in uniform. ... With the famed Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament occupying Xcel Energy Center starting Wednesday, the Wild head out on a two-game road swing to Toronto and Buffalo, starting Thursday. ... The Avalanche return to Denver for four consecutive home games, starting Thursday vs. the Florida Panthers.