Wild end skid with win vs. Sharks
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- A pair of Minnesota goals just a few ticks of the clock apart snapped a second-period tie and helped the Wild beat the San Jose Sharks 3-2 to end a season-worst five-game losing skid.
With the game tied 1-1, the Wild got goals from Martin Hanzal and Charlie Coyle just 15 seconds apart as their home dominance of the Sharks continued. The Wild improved to 9-1-1 vs. the Sharks in their past 11 meetings in Minnesota. Matt Dumba also scored, and Devan Dubnyk had 21 saves for the Wild (44-22-6).
The Sharks' losing streak grew to four games as San Jose fell behind in the first period and never established a lead. David Schlemko and Patrick Marleau had second-period goals, and goalie Martin Jones made 24 saves, but San Jose (42-23-7) lost to the Wild for the second time this month and the third time this season.
It was Minnesota's first win since a March 10 victory in Florida. The Wild had lost seven of their previous eight games.
On the game's first power play, a deft pass by Zach Parise found Dumba alone in front of the Sharks' net and the Wild defenseman flipped a wrist shot past Jones on the stick side. It was Dumba's third goal in Minnesota's last five games.
The Wild kept outshooting the Sharks by a wide margin into the second period but kept getting stopped by Jones. The other end of the rink was mostly quiet for Dubnyk, but he did use a poke check to foil Sharks right winger Joonas Donskoi on a breakaway.
With the momentum flipped to the Sharks' side, they pecked away at Dubnyk and broke through to forge a 1-1 tie when a Schlemko shot pinballed off a Wild defender and in.
It was the first of four goals in 63 seconds, with Hanzal and Coyle scoring on consecutive trips over the blue line for Minnesota and Marleau answering off a misplay of a puck behind the Wild net as the second period finished with the Wild up 3-2.
With both teams riding lengthy losing streaks, the crowd nevertheless got involved early when Minnesota's Chris Stewart and San Jose's Michael Haley shed their gloves and traded punches in the neutral zone barely two minutes into the game.
NOTES: Wild C Eric Staal was skating in his 1001st NHL game on Sunday, having hit the century mark two days earlier in Winnipeg. He was shown on the scoreboard and given a standing ovation by the crowd anyway. ... The Sharks were without RW Jannik Hansen for the second consecutive game. He is dealing with an upper-body injury after taking a high stick to the head in San Jose's 2-1 home loss to the Ducks on March 18. ... Hanzal's second period goal was his first as a member of the Wild. He was skating in his 10th game for Minnesota after being acquired in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes in late February. ... San Jose's current 0-4-0 run is their longest streak without a point this season. They had a 0-1-3 losing streak in early February.