Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 4, Canadiens 3

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 4-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Sunday afternoon:

1. How badly did the Wild need that one?
After Montreal scored an early third-period goal to give the Canadiens a 3-2 lead, Minnesota rallied with a pair of pretty goals to secure its second victory of the season and first on home ice.
Brad Hunt, dubbed the power-play specialist, did what he does, rifling a one-timer past goaltender Keith Kinkaid just six seconds into a man advantage, tying the game at 3-3.

Just over four minutes later, it was Zach Parise, finishing off an improbable feed from Jason Zucker, re-directing a pass that seemed to get through the entire Canadiens team from the right point to the bottom of the left circle. Parise's deflection fit just under the crossbar and Xcel Energy Center went bananas.

The victory snapped a brief two-game skid for Minnesota.
2. How good was the Wild's first period? Without a doubt, it was Minnesota's best 20-minute session of the young season.
The Wild finished with just 17 shots on goal in a 4-0 loss to these same Canadiens Thursday in Montreal, but on Sunday came out and peppered the Habs net with 19 shots in the first period alone.

Minnesota also scored first when, perhaps appropriately, it was Zucker who redirected a Mikko Koivu shot past Keith Kinkaid for an early power-play goal and a 1-0 lead.

Unfortunately for the Wild, a disturbing trend continued in the second when Montreal converted a pair of goals in just 16 seconds, but Marcus Foligno salvaged the period by tying the score at 2-2 on a goal with 15 ticks remaining.
3. The Wild welcomed its 15,000,000th fan through the gates at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday.
The lucky fan was Brad Newell from Plymouth, who along with his wife, Tracy, have been Wild Season Ticket Members since the franchise's first season in 2000. For being the landmark fan, Newell received a custom Wild jersey, upgraded on-the-glass seats, passes to the Audi Quattro Club and a Hockey Lodge Gift Package.
Minnesota's regular season sell out streak did come to an end on Sunday, concluding at 230 games dating back to Dec. 2, 2013.