National Hockey League
Minnesota 5, San Jose 4
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, April 17, 2022
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Dan O'Rourke, Kevin Pollock
Linesmen: Ryan Galloway, Justin Johnson
Attendance: 19029

Jared Spurgeon scored two goals, including the game-winner 1:05 into overtime, to lift the Minnesota Wild to a 5-4 win over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday evening in Saint Paul, Minn.

Kevin Fiala finished with a goal and three assists for Minnesota (47-21-7, 101 points), which clinched a playoff berth for the third season in a row and the 12th time in franchise history. Matt Boldy added a goal and an assist and Dmitry Kulikov also scored for the Wild.

Nick Bonino, Noah Gregor and Rudolfs Balcers each recorded a goal and an assist for San Jose (29-34-12, 70 points).

Spurgeon finished the scoring with his ninth goal of the season. Fiala carried the puck to the high slot and ripped a wrist shot, and Spurgeon got his stick on it to redirect it past the glove side of Sharks goaltender James Reimer.

The Wild jumped to a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in an 85-second span in the first period. Kulikov started the scoring at the 6:04 mark. He punched a slap shot through traffic for his sixth goal. Spurgeon doubled Minnesota's lead to 2-0 at 7:29.

San Jose shaved the deficit to 2-1 with 10:22 left in the first period. Balcers threw a shot at the net for his 10th goal, which marked the first time he has reached double digits in his four seasons in the NHL.

The Sharks pulled even at 2-2 less than two minutes into the second period. A giveaway by Minnesota's Mats Zuccarello opened the door for Matt Nieto to net his sixth goal of the campaign.

The Wild pulled back on top 3-2 on Boldy's 14th goal of his rookie campaign 6:37 into the second period.

San Jose answered once again, this time at 11:11 of the middle period. After Brent Burns' shot from the point was stopped, Gregor punched in the rebound for his fifth goal.

Bonino put the Sharks on top 4-3 when he recorded a short-handed goal at 1:37 of the third period. Tomas Hertl fed a quick pass to Bonino, who fired a shot from the left circle for his 12th goal.

Minnesota made it 4-4 at 8:54 of the third period. Fiala scored when he redirected a shot by Jordie Benn from the point.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
San Jose   Minnesota
Rudolfs Balcers 2 Points Kevin Fiala 4
Rudolfs Balcers 1 Goals Jared Spurgeon 2
Brent Burns 2 Assists Kevin Fiala 3
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
Nick Bonino 1 Short Handed Goals N/A
James Reimer .821 Save Percentage Marc-Andre Fleury .867
James Reimer 23 Saves Marc-Andre Fleury 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
San Jose 30 4 0-3 5-5 10 24
Minnesota 28 5 0-5 3-3 6 32
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Montreal. The Wild have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .552 after a loss.
  • San Jose will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Sharks have a W/L % of .433 after a win and .349 after a loss.