Mats Zuccarello, Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy posted multi-point efforts and the Minnesota Wild's home point streak hit a season-best nine games as the Ducks fell 7-3 tonight at Xcel Energy Center.
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Recap: Ducks Can't Keep Up with Wild, Fall 7-3 in Minnesota
The loss dropped Anaheim to 2-5-1 since returning from the NHL's holiday break. The Ducks are second in the Pacific Division in points (19-14-7, 45 points) and fourth by point percentage (.563).
Anthony Stolarz made 23 saves in 42 minutes of action before Lukas Dostal replaced him in the third period. Dostal, appearing in his second NHL game, stopped 10-of-11 shots in 18 minutes.
Zuccarello, Boldy, Kevin Fiala, Ryan Hartman, Victor Rask and Matt Dumba scored in Minnesota's eighth straight win on home ice. The Wild have outscored opponents 44-20 in that span and are now 12-2-1 at Xcel Energy Center this season.
Max Comtois, Derek Grant and Trevor Zegras scored for Anaheim.
Playing its first game in a week, Minnesota jumped out to an early lead with a strong opening period, pinning Anaheim on its heels defensively and claiming a two-goal edge after 20 minutes.
Fiala opened the scoring, converting an odd-man rush with a forehand move past Stolarz. Boldy earned his first career assist with the setup effort and now has points in two of his first three NHL games (2-1=3).
Fiala has a season-best five-game point streak (4-2=6) and is now only one goal shy of becoming the fourth Swiss-born player to score 100 career NHL goals.
Hartman extended the lead just over a minute later on an impressive display of hand-eye coordination. Zuccarello tracked down an errant shot behind the net, swatting the bouncing puck back towards the crease where Hartman connected connected on a swing of his own, batting it by Stolarz to put the Wild up 2-0.
Hartman leads the Wild in goals (16) and, with a +3 rating on the night, now owns the NHL's best plus/minus (+29).
Comtois put Anaheim on the board with his second goal in his last three games, finishing a cleanly executed transition play. The Wild tried to enter the Ducks defensive zone with a cross-ice pass but Kevin Shattenkirk stepped up to intercept and lead Zegras the other way. Zegras directed it to Comtois on right wing and the big winger brought it right to the slot, wiring a perfectly placed wrist shot off the far post and in, pulling the Ducks back within a goal.
Zuccarello capped Minnesota's first-period surge on a laser of a shot from the left faceoff circle. Kaprizov protected the puck from two Ducks defenders in the corner, using his back as a shield and somehow spotting Zuccarello behind him before backhanding a pass right into his linemate's wheelhouse. Zuccarello made good work of the highlight-reel feed, beating Stolarz with a one-timer over the glove to restore the Wild's two-goal cushion.
Zuccarello also has points in a season-long five straight games (3-5=8) and 17 points (7-10=17) in his last 14 appearances.
Ducks forward Sonny Milano left the game in the first period following an elbow to the face by Wild defenseman Jon Merrill and was ruled out with an upper-body injury.
The teams played a scoreless middle frame, with maybe the best chance coming off the stick of Josh Manson, who joined the rush and nearly converted a backdoor pass by Buddy Robinson, but was denied by Kahkonen.
Trailing by two headed into the final frame, the Ducks needed a strong period to mount a comeback in a tough road building, but a disastrous start to the third sealed Anaheim's fate, as three Minnesota goals extended the home team's lead to five.
The three-goal blitz started on a bad bounce for the Ducks, a shot from along the boards that deflected in off Cam Fowler's skate. Anaheim's situation went from bad to worse on the following faceoff when Zuccarello split the Ducks defense and beat Stolarz with a wrist shot from distance.
Rask scored Minnesota's sixth of the night a minute later, hammering home a one-timer on a rush with Marcus Foligno.
Now staring at a five-goal deficit, the Ducks kept skating and fought their way back into the game, but would not be able to mount a historic comeback.
Grant scored his fourth of the season from right in front of the net, muscling for inside positioning and getting rewarded for it when Jamie Drysdale's shot hit his skate and tipped by Kahkonen.
Drysdale is second among rookie defensemen in scoring (3-14=17) and assists.
Zegras cut the lead to three shortly after, deftly re-directing Fowler's shot under the crossbar for his tenth goal of the year. With a goal and an assist on the night, Zegras registered his third multi-point effort in his last five games. He leads all first-year players in points per game (.85) and sits second in scoring (10-19=29).
Dumba notched the night's final tally with a wrist shot through traffic and just under the crossbar, sealing the Wild's 7-3 victory.
Anaheim concludes its road back-to-back tomorrow night in Chicago.
