Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 4, Ducks 2

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 4-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center in Anaheim, California on Tuesday night:

1. The Wild came out sluggish in the second period, but rolling in the third.
After a scoreless first 20 minutes at the house formerly known as the Arrowhead Pond, the Ducks struck twice in a span of 25 seconds within the first two minutes of the second period.
Only a sprawling save by Alex Stalock seconds later kept it from becoming a 3-zip game.
But the game seemed to turn on a lucky bounce just after that. With the Ducks pouring on the pressure, Anaheim defenseman Korbinian Holzer saw a puck bounce over his stick, and he had no choice but to haul down Ryan Donato to prevent a breakaway.
The Wild didn't score on the power play, but it put a pin in Anaheim's momentum.
Minnesota would eventually hit the board midway through the period when Kevin Fiala finished off a pass by Ryan Suter to make it a one-goal game headed to the final 20.
It didn't take the Wild long to get its first lead.
Mats Zuccarello scored 1:28 into the period to tie the game and just over three minutes after that, it was Eric Staal finishing off a chance next to the cage for his fifth of the season, a goal which gave Minnesota its first lead of the hockey game.

After a slow start to the season, Staal now has a point in five-straight games and in seven of the past eight overall.
2. Speaking of goal streaks, Zuccarello now owns a three-game streak of his own.
Nicked up in the second, Zuccarello didn't miss a shift of action but committed a tripping minor in the waning seconds of the second period.
The Wild killed Zuccarello's penalty early in the third and got a couple good bits of luck as the final seconds ticked away. First, Joel Eriksson Ek gained control of the puck, and second, it happened just as Zuccarello exited the penalty box. Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler fell down, and Eriksson Ek found Zuccarello with a great pass and a clean breakaway, where the veteran winger flipped a shot past a stationary Gibson for his third goal in as many games.

Zuccarello added an assist on Staal's goal a few minutes later giving him his first multi-point game in a Wild sweater.
3. Kevin Fiala now has a goal in back-to-back games.
Fiala's game Saturday against the St. Louis Blues in St. Paul may have been his best game in a Wild uniform. He was rewarded too -- although unconventionally -- with a seeing-eye goal through traffic, more of a "look what I found" type scoring play.
But they don't ask what they look like for inclusion in the boxscore.
His goal Tuesday was much more his jam.

It came after a lengthy shift in the offensive zone and an apparent injury to Mats Zuccarello, who limped to the bench. Onto the ice came Fiala, and about 20 seconds into the shift, Suter found him with a nifty pass through the zone for a quick shot over goaltender John Gibson's glove.