Wild cough up another third-period lead, fall to Ducks
It was a familiar story for the Minnesota Wild Saturday night.
Just two days after the Nashville Predators scored three unanswered third-period goals to beat the Wild in St. Paul, the Anaheim Ducks scored twice in the third frame to come from behind to hand Minnesota a 3-2 loss at Xcel Energy Center.
Ryan Strome scored 6 minutes, 45 seconds into the third period to tie the game at 2-2 and Troy Terry got the go-ahead tally — his second goal of the night — 4 minutes, 55 seconds later as the Ducks (17-30-2) erased the Wild’s 2-1 lead through two periods.
The Wild (21-23-5) pulled goaltender Filip Gustavsson with just over a minute remaining and made a late rush at the Ducks net but couldn't push a tying goal across.
Gustavsson had 22 saves on 25 shots. The Wild outshot the Ducks 37-25, but Lukas Dostal was tough in net for Anaheim, making 35 saves on the night.
Kirill Kaprizov put the Wild up 1-0 early with a goal 6 minutes, 39 seconds into the first period, but Terry delivered an equalizer 1 minute, 38 seconds later. Jon Merrill scored late in the period to give Minnesota a 2-1 advantage, which it held until surrendering the two third-period goals.
The Wild now have some much-needed time off for the All-Star break. They return to action on Feb. 7 when they’ll take on the Chicago Blackhawks. Puck drop in the Windy City is set for 8:30 p.m.
