Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 3, Blue Jackets 2 (OT)

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 3-2 overtime win against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Saturday night:

1. Flower power
After five days of build up, new Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury finally debuted in his new uniform.
And he was typical Flower. He left his crease, was mobile in chasing down pucks and made a number of outstanding -- albeit, unorthodox -- saves along the way.
Take the end of the second period. With Columbus leading 2-1 and looking for more, Fleury made a sprawling save on Jake Bean, then another one from his knees while arching back just a couple of seconds later, keeping the Wild within a goal into the third period.
That ended up being a big deal when Kirill Kaprizov scored his second goal of the game with 1:03 left in regulation, a goal that tied the game at 2-2.

"Cam [Talbot] told me the team has been really good 6-on-5 so I was hoping for one," Fleury said. "But the guys played so good in the third. All period, they were grinding it out and it felt like it was a matter of time. It was a big relief when they got that goal."
In overtime, Fleury made a fantastic save on Jackets sniper Patrik Laine as he cruised in alone down the left-wing wall.
"Just his compete is phenomenal. He's aggressive. He competes," said Wild coach Dean Evason. "The save on Laine at the end, that's a world-class shooter and for him to come out like that, challenge, give no opportunity and then we're able to transition and get going the other way because of it. That was a big save for us."

A minute later, Kevin Fiala was threading the needle on a give-and-go to Jared Spurgeon, and the captain didn't miss, backhanding a shot past Elvis Merzlikins to deliver the Wild the extra point in the standings.
Fleury was named the game's third star after making 23 saves in a winning effort. As he was saluting the crowd after the game, one fan threw a bouquet of flowers on the ice. Fleury took notice, grabbed the flowers and brought them with him as he went back to the dressing room to celebrate the win with his new teammates.
It was one of those 'Welcome to Minnesota' moments.
" I felt like a figure skater," Fleury said. "Just happy to get a win, you know? It's all I wanted for the first game here, so I was just happy to celebrate with the guys and keep this streak alive."
2. They did it again
Before Fleury could earn his first win in a Wild sweater, it required the club to do what it has done all season long ... come from behind to tie the game late with the extra attacker.
Minnesota led 1-0 after one, got away from its game in the second trailed by a goal after two before thoroughly dominating the third period, outshooting the Blue Jackets by a 13-3 margin.
More than that, the Wild had at least half a dozen grade-A scoring chances, but just couldn't find a way to get one by Merzlikins until Kaprizov rifled a shot through traffic for his 35th goal of the season and second of the game with 63 seconds left.

"We didn't get rewarded obviously until the end but we had some real sustained time down there. I think the guys just felt it was a matter of time," Evason said. "I don't know if we were going to score but it was a matter of time before we were going to get some real good looks because of that."
Like earlier in the homestand, when the Wild earned a win over the Boston Bruins when a physical, grinding shift by the GREEF line resulted in a goal, it was one memorable shift by the line of Fiala, Freddy Gaudreau and Matt Boldy that turned the tide.
They didn't score, but their hard work changed the entire tone and tenor of the period, and Minnesota rolled lines relentlessly until it finally cashed in late.

"Doesn't have to be necessarily a physical shift like Ek's line provides. It's the momentum, it's hanging onto the puck, it's continually beating people to the puck and winning those puck battles and the crowd feels that and I think the team feeds off it too," Evason said. "Just with having that sustained time in the offensive zone it wears teams down."
The goal -- and ensuing victory -- means the Wild has now accumulated at least a dozen extra points it otherwise wouldn't have if not for the late success with the extra attacker.
"It was a big goal. We kept with it, 60 minutes no matter what," Fiala said. "We could have scored many more goals, but we just continue to go at it, go at it, and even in the last minute, it just says a lot for our group. We still believe we can make it happen, so very happy."
3. Fiala with the feeds
While Kaprizov will get the headlines -- ad deservedly so -- for scoring a pair of goals, and Fleury will get accolades for earning the victory in his debut, don't forget about the night Fiala had.
He earned the second assist on Kaprizov's late tying goal, then distributed the primary helper on Spurgeon's winner in overtime, a gorgeous give-and-go where Fiala somehow threaded the pass through a body in front, springing Spurgeon with a quick break to the net.

"I saw Spurgy getting in the zone and nobody was following me, so I was very excited to get the drop," Fiala said. "My plan was to go around, make a move and I saw both guys came on me and Spurgy was alone, so I saw that pass to him."
Guys like Fiala just think the game differently, especially in 3-on-3, where there is more time and space and room for creativity for a player of Fiala's ilk.
That was on display Saturday night.

"Yeah, I love it. I love the three on three. More space," Fiala said. "Obviously we don't want to get there too many times. We want to win the game in 60 minutes. But it's more space, more time, it feels like. And if you beat your guy, it's gonna be an odd-man rush. It's just easier to create offense."

The victory was Minnesota's fifth straight, and assured itself of -- at the very least -- of a winning homestand. The Wild has three games remaining on its franchise record nine-game homestand, one that it is currently 5-1-0 on.
It's a homestand that continues on Sunday when the Wild hosts the Central Division leading Colorado Avalanche.

Loose pucks

• The Wild is now 7-1-1 in its past nine and is 22-6-1 at home this season
• Kaprizov now has 80 points on the season, becoming the second player in franchise history to reach that mark
• Fleury's win was his 20th of the season, making him the fourth goalie in NHL history to procure 14 career 20-win campaigns (Patrick Roy, Martin Broduer, Ed Belfour)
• Spurgeon's OT winner was the third of his career
• Zuccarello had one assist and now has 45 this season, a new career high
• Jake Bean and Jakub Voracek had goals for Columbus
• Merzlikins finished with 35 saves on 38 shots

Dan's three stars

1. Jared Spurgeon
   2. Kirill Kaprizov
   3. Marc-Andre Fleury

Highlights