It took a shootout, but the Minnesota Wild earned their second straight victory Thursday, as they downed host Florida Panthers, 3-2, in a inter-conference contest at BankAtlantic Center. The victory was the second for the Wild (26-24-9, 63 points) against on of the Eastern Conference's top three teams -- on Wednesday, Minnesota snapped a eight-game losing streak by blanking the Boston Bruins, 2-0.
Centers Erik Christensen and Matt Cullen each tallied shootout goals for Minnesota, as both beat Florida goaltender Jose Theodore with wrist shots. Meanwhile, the Panthers' right-winger Kris Versteeg and left-winger Sean Bergenheim each missed their chances on Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom.
Panthers' left-winger Sean Bergenheim forced the game into overtime when he netted his 13th goal of the season with just 4:12 remaining in the third period. The tally answered a go-ahead goal by Cullen, who netted a power-play goal just 1:14 into the third.
Kyle Brodziak netted a second-period goal that helped tied the game at 1 with just 20 second remaining.
Backstrom finished the contest with 41 saves, while Theodore made just 26.
For more on Wild hockey, check out the SB Nation blog Hockey Wilderness, while Litter Box Cats has everything on the Panthers.