St. Paul, Minn. – The defensive-minded Minnesota Wild used a quick-strike offense to win for the third time in four games Friday night.
Todd White and Marian Gaborik scored 36 seconds apart and the Wild netted three goals in the final 5:12 to rally for a 5-3 win over the Avalanche.
“Playing here, our guys have a little more intensity,” Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said. “We had good legs and a lot of energy. It was exciting, and we love to make it exciting.”
Former Wild forward Antti Laaksonen had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, which beat Minnesota 4-3 on Thursday in Denver.
With the game tied 2-2 late, White, Gaborik and Marc Chouinard scored for Minnesota. Marek Svatos got his team-leading 19th goal for the Avalanche.
“We were able to get some quality goals late in the game,” said White, who noted the importance of rebounding from Thursday’s loss. “We kind of let one get away from us. They had gained some ground on us, and we had to get it back.”
Colorado needed 26 seconds and one shot to take the game’s first lead. Andrew Brunette scored against his former team for the second time in as many nights as he fought off defender Alex Henry and got off a backhand shot that beat goaltender Manny Fernandez low.
Minnesota didn’t record its first shot until more than seven minutes had elapsed, yet the Wild nearly tied it near the midway point of the opening period when Kurtis Foster’s drive from the high slot hit the left post.
The Wild took control in the second period, outshooting the Avalanche 9-4 and scoring twice to take the lead.
“This game was played in spurts,” Brunette said. “If we could’ve kept it tied with five minutes to play, we could’ve gotten a win tonight.”
The Avs’ Peter Budaj, making back-to-back starts for the first time in a month, had 19 saves.
