Victor Rask scored 2:46 into overtime and the Minnesota Wild beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 on Saturday night.
Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Hartman and Nick Bonino also scored and the Wild finished 4-1-2 on a season-high seven-game homestand. Kirill Kaprizov added two assists and Cam Talbot stopped 19 shots.
Minnesota, which began the day a point behind Colorado for second place in the West Division and home-ice advantage for the opening playoff round, is 21-5-2 at Xcel Energy Center this season, including 19-2-2 since Jan. 31.
Minnesota Wild center Victor Rask, defenseman Jared Spurgeon, left wing Kevin Fiala and left wing Kirill Kaprizov, from left, celebrate after Spurgeon scored a goal against the Anaheim Ducks with an assist from Kaprizov during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, May 8, 2021, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP PhotoCraig Lassig)
Rask took a pass from Matt Dumba and hammered a shot past Ryan Miller from the left circle.
Miller concluded his stellar 18-season career by making 21 saves for Anaheim, which finished 17-30-9 and missed the playoffs for the third straight season.
Rickard Rakell, Trevor Zegras and Max Comtois scored, the latter on a slap shot with 25.5 seconds left in regulation.
Anaheim Ducks center Rickard Rakell, right, celebrates with the bench after scoring a goal against the Minnesota Wild during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, May 8, 2021, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP PhotoCraig Lassig)
Kaprizov, the favorite to be named the league’s top rookie, has 24 assists among his team-leading 51 points. He has 11 goals and five assists in his last 12 games.
His second helper of the night was a saucer pass to Hartman for an easy redirect for a 2-1 lead.
Bonino took a feed from Nico Strum to score less than a minute later.
Zegras scored early in the third period to get the Ducks within 3-2 and was robbed by a sprawling save by Talbot a few minutes later.
Anaheim did not score during its lone power play. Its 8.9% success rate this season is the worst in modern-era league history. Tampa Bay had a 9.4% power-play percentage in 1997-98.
ONE LAST MILLER TIME
Miller received handshakes from all Ducks and Wild players after the game, his 796th and final one. He also received a standing ovation following a tribute video played during the first period. Miller countered with a wave and stick salute.
Finishing with a career record of 391-290-1 playing for Buffalo, St. Louis, Vancouver and Anaheim, Miller is the all-time leader among American-born goaltenders in wins, second in shutouts (44) and games played (795) and is one of six goalies in league history to win 30 games in seven straight seasons (2006-12).
Miller won the Vezina Trophy in 2009-10 with Buffalo, going 41-18-8 with .929 save percentage and a 2.22 goals-against average. He also backstopped the United States to a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics that season and was named the tournament’s MVP.
NO PARISE AGAIN
Wild LW Zach Parise was a healthy scratch for the second straight game and third time since April 5. “It’s numbers, and we have to make a decision. It’s a tough call, obviously, but you’ve got to make that decision,” said coach Dean Evason.
In the ninth season of a 13-year, $98 million deal, Parise has seven goals and 11 assists in 44 games, but zero of either in nine straight games as his playing time has steadily decreased.
UP NEXT
Wild: First of two games at St. Louis starting Wednesday.
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