Wild 4, Flames 3
Wild 4, Flames 3: Jason Pominville scored twice to help Minnesota open its three-game road trip with just its second win in eight contests (2-5-1).
Captain Mikko Koivu and Pierre-Marc Bouchard added goals for the Wild, who moved ahead of St. Louis and into sixth place in the Western Conference. Niklas Backstrom made 20 saves as Minnesota improved to 10-3-1 against Northwest Division rivals.
Ben Hanowski scored in his NHL debut, rookie Sven Baertschi added a goal in the final minute of the contest and Jiri Hudler also scored for Calgary, which was unable to record its first three-game winning streak in over a year and fell to 1-1-2 against the Wild. Joey MacDonald stopped 23 shots in his third consecutive start.
Pominville, who has four goals and two assists in six games since being acquired from Buffalo at the trade deadline, gave the Wild a 2-0 lead with 8:47 remaining in the second period as he collected the puck off the end boards at slid it past MacDonald. Pominville’s one-timer from the high slot 5:06 into the third extended Minnesota’s advantage to 4-1.
Koivu opened the scoring 2:17 into the game, chipping in his own rebound during a scramble. Hudler cut the Flames’ deficit to 2-1 early in the third on a nice passing play with fellow Czechs Roman Horak and Roman Cervenka, but Bouchard restored the two-goal advantage 11 seconds later with a wrist shot from the left faceoff dot that beat MacDonald between the pads.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Hanowski, who captained St. Cloud State to the NCAA Frozen Four, shoveled a rebound between Backstrom’s pads from the doorstep midway through the third period. Baertschi tipped in a cross-crease feed from Mike Cammalleri for his second goal in as many games. ... Minnesota’s road trip continues on Tuesday in Edmonton. The Wild will host the Flames on Sunday as the division rivals meet for the fifth and final time. ... Wild C Matt Cullen returned to the lineup and registered an assist after missing six games with lower-body injury.