Brent Burns' backhand goal with 1:48 left to play broke a tie, and the San Jose Sharks went on defeat the Minnesota Wild 5-3 in Saint Paul, Minn., on Sunday night.
Ryan Donato, Evander Kane, Noah Gregor and Matt Nieto also scored for the Sharks, with Nieto's coming in the final minute after the Wild pulled their goalie. Donato also had an assist.
Zach Parise finished with a goal and an assist for Minnesota, and Nick Bjugstad and Kevin Fiala scored goals that pulled the Wild into a 3-3 tie with 7:20 gone in the third period.
A goal that Bjugstad thought he had scored earlier in the game helped San Jose build its lead. The Sharks were holding onto a 2-1 lead when Bjugstad found the back of the net and appeared to tie the game.
Sharks head coach Bob Boughner challenged the play, wanting interference called, and the league concluded Bjugstad had pushed goaltender Martin Jones' pad while depositing the puck.
Jones stopped 26 of 29 shots. Wild goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, who blanked the Sharks in a relief effort on Friday, made 31 saves.
Kirill Kaprizov set up Parise early in the first period to give Minnesota an early 1-0 lead. Donato, a former Wild player, got one back for the Sharks with a sharp-angled shot that eluded Kahkonen and tied things up 1-1 with 58 seconds left in the frame.
Kane broke the tie with a power-play goal at the 6:39 mark of the second period. Just after the Bjugstad goal was waved off, Mario Ferraro assisted Gregor on a goal that extended the Sharks' lead to 3-1.
Bjugstad's next chance counted and made the score 3-2 with just over three minutes left in the second period.
The Wild capitalized on a power-play opportunity early in the third as Fiala's slap shot fooled Jones and tied the game back up 3-3.
Minnesota had another big opportunity to take the lead late with another power-play opportunity but couldn't cash in.
--Field Level Media
San Jose | Minnesota | |
Ryan Donato 2 | Points | Zach Parise 2 |
Ryan Donato 1 | Goals | Zach Parise 1 |
Ryan Donato 1 | Assists | Ryan Suter 2 |
Evander Kane 1 | Power Play Goals | Kevin Fiala 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Martin Jones .897 | Save Percentage | Kaapo Kahkonen .886 |
Martin Jones 26 | Saves | Kaapo Kahkonen 31 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
San Jose | 36 | 5 | 1-4 | 3-4 | 12 | 40 |
Minnesota | 29 | 3 | 1-4 | 3-4 | 12 | 30 |