The Minnesota Wild kept one point back of the Chicago Blackhawks in the race for the Central Division after a 5-4 win over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.
For a time in the third period, it looked like the Wild would come away with a regulation loss. The Sharks surged to a two-goal lead on goals from Joel Ward and Patrick Marleau just 32 seconds apart.
And then the comeback started.
Eric Staal and Mikko Koivu scored and the Wild, with three goals in just over five minutes, came back for the win, as the two teams combined for six goals in the final period.
For the Wild, that’s a pretty solid response from their New Year’s Eve loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, which ended Minnesota’s winning streak at 12 games. They had four days to sit on that loss and it looked like they would suffer a second consecutive setback -- until that timely scoring outburst.
“Our leadership and our best players were our best players,” said head coach Bruce Boudreau. “It’s nice to see them say ‘damn if we’re going to lose.”