The Minnesota Wild snapped a five-game losing streak on Thursday night as they defeated the Phoenix Coyotes after a shootout by a score of 3-2. The Wild now have 68 points, which ties them with the Anaheim Ducks at 12th place in the Western Conference, while the Coyotes, who have now lost five games in a row, have 76 points and are in eighth place in the conference.
The Wild went into the third period with a 2-0 lead as Kyle Brodziak and Steve Kampfer both scored goals early in the first period. After a scoreless second, though, the Coyotes made a comeback run by scoring two of their own, one by Raffi Torres and one by Lauri Korpikoski, in the third to tie the game and force overtime. Neither team was able to score in the five-minute overtime period, forcing a shootout.
The Coyotes' Ray Whitney scored on his first attempt and was matched by the Wild's Erik Christensen on Minnesota's first attempt. After four straight misses, the Wild's Devin Setoguchi scored on his attempt, but was matched when Phoenix's Shane Doan got the puck past the goalie on the next try. The game was ended, though, on the 10th shootout shot when Dany Heatley got the puck past Jason LaBarbera on a backhand shot from 10 feet away.
The Wild takes on the Calgary Flames on Sunday night at home at 6 p.m. (ET) and the Coyotes take on the Jan Jose Sharks, also at home, on Saturday at 8 p.m. (ET).
For more on the Wild, head to Hockey Wilderness, and for more on the Coyotes, check out Five For Howling.