clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Wild Shoot Down Ducks 5-1

St. Paul, MN (Sports Network) - Kyle Brodziak had a goal and two assists, as the Minnesota Wild handled the Anaheim Ducks, 5-1, at Xcel Energy Center.

Mikko Koivu, Matt Cullen, Eric Nystrom and Martin Havlat also lit the lamp for the Wild, who snapped a two-game skid. Niklas Backstrom made 29 saves.

Minnesota defenseman Marek Zidlicky returned to the lineup after missing the last 21 games with a shoulder injury.

It was not all good news for the Wild, as Koivu left the game in the first period with a hand injury after blocking a shot.

Corey Perry scored the lone goal for the Ducks, who have dropped two in a row since a four-game winning streak.

Curtis McElhinney stopped 21-of-26 shots for Anaheim, which had won six straight on the road.

The Ducks drew first blood at the 3:30 mark of the first on Perry's tip-in. Anaheim's lone lead of the game didn't last long, as Koivu tied things up at 5:01.

The Wild got a short-handed goal from Cullen with 4:53 remaining to make it a 2-1 game. Cullen left the penalty box to end a 5-on-3, gathered a pass from Kyle Brodziak and went in on a breakaway.

Nystrom's power-play goal at the 13:32 mark of the second gave Minnesota a 3-1 lead. Just 27 seconds later, Brodziak batted the puck out of the air and into the net for a three-goal cushion.

Havlat made it 5-1 on a power play at the 16:49 mark of the third.

Game Notes

Minnesota leads the season series with Anaheim, 2-1...Perry has five goals and 10 assists over a seven-game point streak...Ducks forward Teemu Selanne saw a five-game point streak come to an end...Anaheim made a depth move on Thursday, acquiring forward Jarkko Ruutu from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2011 draft...Minnesota started a three-game homestand on Friday.

Photographs by Micah Taylor, clairity, and Fibonacci Blue used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.