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.