Joel Eriksson Ek scored with 23 seconds remaining to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon in Saint Paul, Minn.
Eriksson Ek’s hard-angle shot from near the sideboards gave Minnesota its third win in a row. Tyler Pitlick and Ryan Hartman also scored for the Wild.
Tim Stutzle and Dylan Cozens each finished with a goal and an assist for Ottawa. The Senators lost for the fourth time in their past five games.
Wild goaltender Jesper Wallstedt stopped 34 of 36 shots to earn the victory.
Senators goaltender Leevi Merilainen allowed three goals on 25 shots.
The score was 2-2 in the final minute when the Senators failed to clear the puck out of their defensive zone. Marcus Johansson slid a long pass toward the bottom of the right circle for Eriksson Ek, who blasted a one-timer past Merilainen.
The Wild opened the scoring with 16:06 left in the second period. After Minnesota won a faceoff in its offensive zone, Pitlick skated toward the front of the crease and deflected a shot from the point for his first goal of the season.
Hartman increased the Wild’s lead to 2-0 when he scored on the power play with 3:58 remaining in the second period. Johansson held the puck toward the side of the crease and zipped a pass to Hartman, who tapped in a shot.
The Senators got on the scoreboard 23 seconds into the third period. On a power play, Stutzle spotted a rebound near the right side of the crease and made a diving shot into an open net.
Another power-play goal by the Senators evened the score at 2-all with 14:15 remaining in the third period. Cozens handled the puck in the high slot, waited for a screen in front of the crease and ripped a rising wrist shot past Wallstedt.
Minnesota played less than 24 hours after making a franchise-altering trade to acquire defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. Hughes did not play in Saturday’s game, but is expected to make his team debut Sunday against the Boston Bruins.
–Field Level Media
