Eriksson Ek scores late, Wild recover against Senators

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Joel Eriksson Ek scored with 24 seconds remaining and the Minnesota Wild recovered to defeat the Ottawa Senators 3-2 at Grand Casino Arena on Saturday.

Marcus Johansson sent a cross-ice feed to Eriksson Ek who sent a one-timer from the right circle past Leevi Merilainen.

"Yeah, I think we locked eyes for a little bit, me and 'JoJo'. That vision he has, I just kind of knew he was going to pass it," Eriksson Ek said.

The NHL situation room initiated a challenge for a missed stoppage for high-sticking on Matt Boldy, but video review determined that no high stick occurred and the call on the ice was upheld.

Johansson had two assists, and Tyler Pitlick and Ryan Hartman scored for the Wild (18-9-5), who have won three straight and are 9-0-2 in their past 11 home games. Jesper Wallstedt made 34 saves.

"It was a good game. It was a hard game to win," Minnesota coach John Hynes said. "You know, I thought both teams were, as I said, it was a fast paced game. It was competitive. There was emotion to it. I thought both teams had some different adversities throughout the game, but I like the fact that we competed at a high level, and I thought we needed to do to win."

Tim Stutzle and Dylan Cozens each had a goal and an assist for the Senators (14-13-4), who have lost four of their past five. Merilainen made 22 saves.

"I liked it. It was a really strong road game," Ottawa coach Travis Green said. "I thought we controlled the play for a lot of the game, probably seven or eight minutes in the second period that I might not have liked, but other than that, we played a real strong game tonight. It's unfortunate that we didn't get two points, never mind one."

Pitlick made it 1-0 at 3:54 of the first period, tipping in a Jared Spurgeon shot. It was Pitlick's first goal of the season and his first since November 25, 2023, when he was with the New York Rangers.

Hartman increased the lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal at 16:02, redirecting a pass from Johansson at the side of the net.

Stutzle cut the deficit 2-1 at 19:37 during a power play, poking the loose puck five-hole on Wallstedt.

Cozens tied it 2-2 at 5:45 on the power play with a wrist shot through traffic.

"We're down 2-0 at that point, so that's a big power play for us to get back in it," Cozens said. "We did good on the power play but we also had a chance at the end on the power play to take the lead. So, we got to convert on that one."

It was the first game for the Wild since acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks on Friday for forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren, defenseman Zeev Buium and a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Hughes is expected to make his Wild debut against the Boston Bruins on Sunday.

"It's exciting. It's an unbelievable player that we're getting to come here," Boldy said. "I think everyone's pretty excited about it. See what happens."

NOTES: Eriksson Ek tied for the fourth latest go-ahead goal in regulation in Wild history behind Marcus Foligno (59:52 on Oct. 15, 2021), Jim Dowd (59:44 on Jan. 21, 2004) and Hartman (59:39 on Feb. 19, 2023). … Minnesota is 13-3-3 when scoring first this season. … Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin did not play because of an upper-body injury and will not play on Sunday. Hynes said he expects Brodin to be out "a couple of days."