Game Recap: Wild 3, Ducks 2

Hunter Haight scored his first NHL goal for the Minnesota Wild in a 3-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota on Tuesday.

“I’m really happy for Hunter,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “Just his development, I just really like the way he’s going about his business. He’s gotten better as a second-year pro.”

Danila Yurov and Robby Fabbri scored in the regular-season finale for the Wild (46-24-12), who finished third in the Central Division and will play the second-place Dallas Stars in the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Jesper Wallstedt made 35 saves for Minnesota, which rested 10 regular members of the lineup for the second straight game, including its top six point scorers. The Wild lost 6-3 at the St. Louis Blues on Monday.

Wallstedt allowed two goals or fewer for the eighth time in his past nine starts (4-3-2).

“Obviously going into it, I knew it was going to be a challenge. Going back to back, we’re resting guys, they’re obviously pushing to not play Colorado in the first round, and they’re trying to get spots in their division,” Wallstedt said. “I just saw it as a great challenge. I knew I was going to be busy tonight, and I like it that way.”

Mason McTavish scored two goals and Lukas Dostal made 17 saves for the Ducks (42-33-6), who clinched their first playoff berth in eight years when the San Jose Sharks beat the Nashville Predators 3-2 on Monday.

"Honestly, I thought we played great," Ducks forward Ryan Poehling said. "I thought we ran into a hot goaltender. They've got a great goalie tandem over there, and then they capitalized on a couple chances."

The Ducks, who conclude their regular season at the Nashville Predators on Thursday, are 1-6-2 in their past nine games.

"Regardless of where we end up (in the standings), it's playoff hockey. Anything can happen," Poehling said. "Just be on top of our game and just kind of take care of what we can, I think is the biggest thing. So, we've got one more to kind of go through a rehearsal and then real hockey starts."

The Ducks were on the first power play of the game when McTavish took advantage of a screen by teammate Alex Killorn to score with a snap shot from the left face-off circle for a 1-0 lead at 10:27 of the first period.

"I love to shoot the puck, (but) you can't just go out and shoot from everywhere," McTavish said. "When it presents itself, I'm more than happy to shoot. Everybody loves to score goals."

The Wild tied it 1-1 at 16:42 after Vladimir Tarasenko won a battle for the puck in the corner of the Anaheim zone and passed it to Yurov in the right circle. Yurov had time to gather the puck before shooting it off the body of Dostal and across the goal line.

Dostal stopped a breakaway by Yurov at 9:47 of the second period before Haight made it 2-1 at 11:24.

Nick Foligno passed the puck from below the goal line to Haight above the left hash marks and he dragged the puck through the slot before scoring with a wrist shot from the right hash marks for his first NHL goal in his ninth game.

Haight had a goal disallowed in the loss to St. Louis on Monday because of goaltender interference.

Haight credited veteran linemates Foligno and Marcus Johansson for providing some teachable moments.

“It’s awesome," Haight said. "The opportunity to play with those two guys, you learn so much. Just the little details. Come back from a shift and they’re giving you insight on what they see and all that. So, it’s really cool.”

Fabbri was credited with a goal after a video review showed the puck had crossed the goal line after he gave it a nudge in the crease to extend the lead to 3-1 at 13:03 of the third period.

"A few unlucky bounces," Poehling said. "The third one is just bouncing around like crazy."

McTavish scored on a redirection with Dostal pulled for the extra skater to cut it to 3-2 with 46 seconds left.

The Ducks outshot the Wild 15-3 in the third period

NOTES: Minnesota has won eight straight against Anaheim and 21 of 22. ... Wallstedt finished the season 18-9-6 with a 2.61 goals-against average and .916 save percentage and four shutouts. His wins and shutouts are a team record for a rookie goaltender, his save percentage is tied for first and his GAA ranks second. ... The Wild avoided getting shut out in an 82-game season for the first time in franchise history. ... Ducks forward Chris Kreider did not play because of an illness. ... Anaheim is three goals away from tying the franchise record for the most goals in a single season (263 in 2013-14). ... McTavish has six points (three goals, three assists) in the past six games.