Shootout on the Wild side
Mikko Koivu scored the lone goal in a shootout to give the Minnesota Wild a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks last night at St. Paul in a matchup of two of the top teams in the Western Conference.
Koivu skated through the slot, went left and cut to his right before lifting a backhander past Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Manny Fernandez stopped Teemu Selanne on Anaheim's third attempt.
Ryan Shannon and Ryan Getzlaf also missed for the Ducks, and Pavol Demitra was unsuccessful for the Wild.
It was the third shootout loss for Anaheim (7-0-3). The Wild are 5-0 in overtime and 9-1-0 overall, with the loss a 2-1 decision to Anaheim Oct. 20.
Brian Rolston and Nick Schultz scored for Minnesota, which has won all seven home games this season, and 10 straight overall. Andy McDonald and Chris Kunitz scored for Anaheim in its first loss in five games.
With the Wild down, 2-1, at the start the third period, Kunitz tied it at 3:53 when he knocked down a clearing attempt and fired a slap shot from the right circle through traffic and past Fernandez.
Red Wings 4, Stars 3 -- Defenseman Niklas Lidstrom scored his first two goals to help Detroit hand Dallas its first home loss of the season.
Jiri Hudler and Pavel Datsyuk added goals, and Dominik Hasek stopped 17 shots for the Red Wings (5-4-1). Mike Modano had two power-play goals for Dallas (8-2-0).
Dallas still matched the 1996-97 team for the best start in franchise history.
Marty Turco made 29 saves and Jussi Jokinen had a power-play goal for the Stars, who had won their first three at home.
Lidstrom, Detroit's captain, gave the Red Wings a 2-1 edge with 2:13 left in the opening period, beating Turco from the left point while teammate Tomas Holmstrom screened the goalie.
Blue Jackets 2, Kings 0 -- Pascal Leclaire stopped 38 shots for his first NHL shutout to lead host Columbus.
Nikolai Zherdev and Fredrik Modin scored to help the Blue Jackets end a four-game losing skid and extend the Kings' winless streak to four.
Canucks 3, Capitals 2 -- Markus Naslund and Brendan Morrison scored shootout goals and Roberto Luongo stopped Matt Pettinger and Alexander Ovechkin for host Vancouver.
Olaf Kolzig, who made 42 saves in regulation and overtime, stopped Daniel Sedin on the first shootout attempt, but Naslund roofed a backhander over the goalie's glove and Morrison's attempt trickled in to secure the Canucks' fourth victory in five games.
