8:00 PM ET, December 13,2014
Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
M. Koivu (Wild - C): Goals: 0, Assists: 1A. Vermette (Coyotes - C): Goals: 1, Assists: 1O. Ekman-Larsson (Coyotes - D): Goals: 1, Assists: 1
Associated Press
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Playing with five healthy defensemen, the Minnesota Wild got a boost from their beleaguered power play.Zach Parise had a tying power-play goal late in the third period, and then scored in the shootout to help the short-handed Wild beat the sliding Arizona Coyotes 4-3 on Saturday night.
Mikko Koivu's shot into the roof of the net in the third round of the shootout won it, after Niklas Backstrom stopped Tobias Rieder's attempt.
The Wild, who entered an NHL-worst 1 for 44 on the power play in 14 road games, scored twice with the man advantage. Nino Niederreiter had a power-play goal in the first period and Jason Zucker also scored in regulation for the Wild,
"I thought we had some pretty good extended shifts," Parise said. "They didn't give us a lot of room through the neutral zone and for us to come back and find a way to win was important just for the way things have been going for us lately."
Arizona has lost five in a row and eight of nine. It was the Coyotes' ninth consecutive home loss, extending the franchise record.
But a spirited effort left coach Dave Tippett in a positive mood.
"If we play like that night in and night out, we'll get better results," Tippett said.
Lauri Korpikoski's goal late in the second period put Arizona ahead 3-2.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Antoine Vermette also scored in regulation for the Coyotes. Vermette scored the lone Arizona shootout goal, and Devan Dubnyk had 32 saves.
Martin Hanzal's goalie interference penalty provided an opening for the Wild in the third, a day after coach Mike Yeo tore into his team following a lackluster stretch of 10 games alternating wins and losses.
Minnesota responded, despite being short on skaters, and Backstrom stopped 26 shots.
Jared Spurgeon was held out after falling ill in warmups. Yeo said it was the stomach flu and not the mumps, which has run through the team.
With fellow defenseman Marco Scandella serving the final game of a suspension and Keith Ballard (facial fractures) still sidelined, it made for extra duty for several players. Ryan Suter logged 33:13 of ice time.
"As much as anything else we talked about yesterday, we can't accept anything close," Yeo said. "We were close for 55 minutes or whatever it was of the hockey game and we found a way to come back and win the game. That's a big credit to the boys."
Dubnyk, who was pulled in his last start, settled down after a shaky beginning against the Wild.
With Joe Vitale in the penalty box for holding, Niederreiter redirected Suter's point shot into the net at 2:48.
Arizona tied it barely a minute later, also with the man advantage, on Ekman-Larsson's one-timer from a cross-ice pass by Mikkel Boedker.
Vermette's goal early in the second period -- his shot going off and over Backstrom's blocker -- put Arizona ahead.
Having last won at home on Nov. 4, Tippett shuffled his lineup while looking for a spark. Center Sam Gagner and defenseman Connor Murphy were healthy scratches. Kyle Chipchura, who was waived earlier this month, was elevated to the third line.
Another player who has been sent down and called up recently made a key error that helped Minnesota tie it at 2.
David Schlemko fanned on a blue-line clearance, leaving Zucker alone to slide a shot past Dubnyk despite Schlemko's slash from behind at 13:25 of the second.
Dubnyk robbed Koivu with a glove save of a point-blank shot early in overtime.
"Eventually things will turn our way," Vermette said. "The group effort was much better tonight."
Game notes
Parise and Koivu are tied for the most career NHL shootout goals with 38 each. ... The Wild expect W Matt Cooke (lower body) to practice Monday. He's missed 20 games. ... C Ryan Carter sat out with what the Wild called a minor upper-body injury. Stu Bickel replaced him on the fourth line. ... Arizona has allowed at least one power-play goal in eight straight games.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Photo Wire
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 13: Young fans in the penalty box watch Darcy Kuemper #35 of the Minnesota Wild prepare...
(Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
(Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)
Scoring Summary
| 1st Period | MIN | ARI | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2:48 | Nino Niederreiter (13)
(Power Play) Assists: Ryan Suter, Thomas Vanek |
1 | 0 | |
| 3:52 | Oliver Ekman-Larsson (6)
(Power Play) Assists: Mikkel Boedker, Antoine Vermette |
1 | 1 | |
| 2nd Period | MIN | ARI | ||
| 1:40 | Antoine Vermette (8)
Assists: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Mikkel Boedker |
1 | 2 | |
| 13:25 | Jason Zucker (11)
Assists: Jason Pominville, Mikko Koivu |
2 | 2 | |
| 19:32 | Lauri Korpikoski (3)
Assist: Kyle Chipchura |
2 | 3 | |
| 3rd Period | MIN | ARI | ||
| 14:07 | Zach Parise (11)
(Power Play) Assists: Jason Pominville, Ryan Suter |
3 | 3 | |
| OT | MIN | ARI | ||
| No scoring this period | 3 | 3 | ||
| Shootout Summary | MIN | ARI | ||
 |
Shootout GOAL scored by Zach Parise on Devan Dubnyk | 1 | 0 | |
 |
Shootout GOAL scored by Antoine Vermette on Niklas Backstrom | 1 | 1 | |
|
Shootout GOAL scored by Mikko Koivu on Devan Dubnyk | 2 | 1 | |
|
Shootout attempt by Mikkel Boedker saved by Niklas Backstrom | 2 | 1 | |
|
Shootout attempt by Tobias Rieder MISSES | 2 | 1 | |
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