ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Jesper Wallstedt stopped a career-high 42 shots and three more in a shootout, Matt Boldy scored in regulation and had the lone goal in the tiebreaker in the Minnesota Wild's 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday night.
The Hurricanes outshot Minnesota 45-18 and scored with 1:06 left with their net empty to force overtime. But Wallstedt’s third great showing in a row and 24 blocked shots helped the Wild improve
to 5-0-1 in their past six games.
Jackson Blake scored twice for the Hurricanes, including late from the crease on a stuff-in that barely crossed the goal line and had to be reviewed. The Fargo, North Dakota, native had two more chances in overtime, including a breakaway.
Wallstedt then kept Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov and Taylor Hall from scoring in the shootout. Boldy’s backhander off a deke got past Frederik Andersen to help give Minnesota its second shootout victory this season.
Mats Zuccarello scored his first goal of the season on a breakaway 15 seconds into the third to make it 3-1. Zuccarello missed Minnesota’s first 15 games because of lower-body injury, returning to the lineup Nov. 7.
Sebastian Aho pulled Carolina to 3-2 with 13:26 left.
Wallstedt was particularly stingy early in the second period, when he made nine saves in less than seven minutes. It took Blake’s net-front deflection with 5:56 left to finally solve the 23-year-old rookie from Sweden.
It was the first 5-on-5 goal allowed by Minnesota in over 302 minutes and ended a streak of 95 consecutive saves by Wallstedt. Encompassing consecutive shutouts against Calgary and Anaheim, Wallstedt’s scoreless streak of 175:12 is the fourth longest in Wild history.
Wallstedt entered Wednesday as the only NHL netminder with more than one shutout this season.
Boldy extended his points streak to five games with an unassisted, short-handed goal from the left slot midway through the first period.
Minnesota opened the scoring on Brock Faber’s tip-in from Zuccarello less than two minutes into the game.
Hurricanes: At Winnipeg on Friday night.
Wild: At Pittsburgh on Friday night.
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