NHL

Anaheim Ducks at Minnesota Wild

· National Hockey League
Final
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Wild clinch playoff spot by taking Ducks to OT on Eriksson Ek's tying goal with 20.9 seconds left

Wild clinch playoff spot as Matt Boldy's OT winner caps dramatic victory

The crowd erupted again when the Wild sent retiring goalie Marc-Andre Fleury out for overtime. Fleury made five saves, fending off a 4-on-3 power play.

With an empty net for the extra attacker, Boldy's pass across the slot set up Eriksson Ek at the edge of the crease. Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal stopped his first try with his stick, but a second whack at the puck got it across the line for his 14th goal of the season.

Rookie Sam Colangelo had the go-ahead goal midway through the third period, Alex Killorn scored and Dostal stopped 37 shots for the Ducks (35-37-9), who were eliminated 11 days ago from postseason contention.

Marcus Johansson scored for the Wild (45-30-7), who have the first wild card spot and will face Vegas in the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Takeaways Ducks: Rookie center Tim Washe, who was signed as a college free agent on Monday from national champion Western Michigan, made his NHL debut on the fourth line.

Wild: After some some no-shows down the stretch while they tried to patch together an offense with superstar Kirill Kaprizov and their first-line center Eriksson Ek out with injuries (both returned April 9), the Wild did enough to get in. They're 5-5-2 in their last 12 games with one win in regulation.

Key moment The Wild were buzzing and seemingly on the verge of the go-ahead goal, when defenseman Jake Middleton — who returned from a four-game absence due to an upper-body injury — was caught out of position near the boards and let the Ducks get behind him for a 2-on-1.

Mason MacTavish made Wild defenseman Jon Merrill commit to covering him in the right circle and flicked a perfect pass across the slot to Colangelo for the back-hander to beat Gustavsson.

Key stat Minnesota has won 18 of 19 against Anaheim.

Up next Anaheim finishes the regular season Wednesday at Winnipeg. Minnesota's first-round series starts in Las Vegas either Saturday or Sunday.

Regular Season Series

MIN wins series 3-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 9:47 Marcus Johansson Goal (11) Wrist Shot, assists: Mats Zuccarello (34), Jake Middleton (13)
Goal 1st Period 13:48 Alex Killorn Goal (19) Backhand, assists: Cutter Gauthier (24), Leo Carlsson (25)
Goal 3rd Period 8:45 Sam Colangelo Goal (10) Backhand, assists: Mason McTavish (30), Trevor Zegras (20)
Goal 3rd Period 19:38 Joel Eriksson Ek Goal (14) Wrist Shot, assists: Matt Boldy (46), Mats Zuccarello (35)
Goal 4th Period 4:42 Matt Boldy Goal (27) Wrist Shot, assists: Marcus Johansson (23), Jonas Brodin (16)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/ana.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originANA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/min.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originMIN
14 Blocked Shots 16
17 Hits 22
5 Takeaways 1
29 Shots 40
0 Power Play Goals 0
1 Power Play Opportunities 2
0.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
30 Faceoffs Won 30
50.0 Faceoff Win Percent 50.0
13 Giveaways 17
2 Total Penalties 1
4 Penalty Minutes 2
Minnesota Wild Minnesota Wild Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Marcus Johansson, LW Day-To-Day Apr 25
Troy Grosenick, G Injured Reserve Oct 7
Anaheim Ducks Anaheim Ducks Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Ross Johnston, LW Out Apr 21
John Gibson, G Out Apr 16

Game Information

Xcel Energy Center

Location: Saint Paul, MN
Attendance: 19,029 | Capacity:

2024-25 Pacific Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Vegas 50 22 110 10
Los Angeles 48 25 105 9
Edmonton 48 29 101 5
Calgary 41 27 96 14
Vancouver 38 30 90 14
Anaheim 35 37 80 10
Seattle 35 41 76 6
San Jose 20 50 52 12

2024-25 Central Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Winnipeg 56 22 116 4
Dallas 50 26 106 6
Colorado 49 29 102 4
Minnesota 45 30 97 7
St. Louis 44 30 96 8
Utah 38 31 89 13
Nashville 30 44 68 8
Chicago 25 46 61 11
Full Standings