Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 3, Ducks 2 (OT)

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 3-2 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday night:

1. Matt Dumba, overtime hero.
It's a nickname that could stick after the defenseman scored his second overtime winner in the past six days and fourth of his NHL career.
Like it was last Saturday in a 2-1 win over the Blues, Dumba and Charlie Coyle drove the bus for the Wild in the extra session. Once again, it was Coyle who set up the winner, this time feathering a pass to Dumba near the top of the left circle. With plenty of time and space to work with, Dumba moved the puck to his backhand, skated around a defender near the hashes, then waited out goaltender John Gibson with a forehander into an open net 3:43 into overtime.

"I think he likes overtime," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau. "He's such a good skater, and he gets to roam a little bit. It works out really good for him."
The goal was the ultimate reward for Dumba, who was solid in a career-high 30 minutes, 30 seconds of ice time on Friday. It was also a bit of redemption after a tough play by Dumba in Los Angeles on Tuesday that saw the Kings tie the game in the third period, a contest they would eventually win.
"Even though that happened, it was kind of an unfortunate series of bounces for us there," Dumba said. "But I think we played a real strong game tonight. It was good defensively, and we can be happy with that especially from the other night. Going into the same situation tonight with a 2-1 lead and coming out on top tonight, it definitely shows we learn from our mistakes."

The Wild found itself in the same position on Friday as it was versus the Kings on Tuesday, ahead by a goal headed to the third period. Anaheim tied the game on a goal by Adam Henrique with 6:25 remaining in regulation, but unlike on Tuesday, the Wild's game didn't slide into the gutter.
Instead, it came out after and made a strong push, finally scoring the winner with under two minutes left in the extra session.
"The whole message [at the second intermission] really was, 'Hey listen, it's great that you can play right away after the same situation. You get to not only redeem yourself, you get to show what you're really made of and go out there and do it,'" Boudreau said. "I thought they did. It was a little unfortunate that they got the second goal, but we persevered in the end."
2. With the NHL All-Star Game a little more than a month away, Jason Zucker continued his push for a spot in the big game.
Whether it was his streak of six consecutive goals he scored last month or the fact he's on pace to obliterate his career high in goals, Zucker has consistently been Minnesota's best player all season long.
That continued on Friday, with the Wild trailing by a goal late in the second period.

Minnesota hadn't played poorly by any stretch; it had chances against Ducks goaltender Gibson in the first, including a wide open net for Nino Niederreiter that he ultimately fired off the post. But the Wild couldn't break through until Mikael Granlund hit Zucker streaking through the slot.
The Newport Beach-born Zucker swept the puck to his backhand and picked a spot just under the crossbar for his team-leading 14th goal of the season.

Zucker now has at least one point in 13 of his past 16 games overall and is among the NHL's top-10 goal scorers through the first third of the regular season.
The helper by Granlund snapped a five-game stretch where he failed to tally an assist.
"I liked overall the whole way we played," Boudreau said.
3. After posting an assist Tuesday in Los Angeles, Zack Mitchell scored a goal Friday and now has his first scoring streak in the NHL.
Mitchell scored a goal and an assist in five games in his first go-round this season with Minnesota back in October, then was sent to Iowa, where the Orangeville, Ontario, native caught fire, earning himself a promotion back to the big club.
Since returning Nov. 22, Mitchell has quietly played a solid fourth-line role, scoring his second goal since his latest recall.
"I think that's really important, especially when you're playing fourth line, to do the little things right and the offense will come," Mitchell said. "It was great, it was a huge goal for our team tonight."
The goal couldn't have been any greasier.
Nate Prosser flipped a shot at the net through a pair of screens in front of Gibson, one from Mitchell and the other from Marcus Foligno. Gibson made the first stop, but Mitchell was there to shovel in a rebound, winning a puck battle on top of the blue paint just 2 minutes, 9 seconds after Zucker had tied the game.

"I mean that's a hockey goal, right? Especially from the fourth line," Mitchell said. "It doesn't matter how they come, they all count the same."
Prosser earned his first point of the season on the play. Daniel Winnik also assisted and now has helpers in four of his past six games.
A 22-goal scorer in Iowa two seasons ago and a two-time 30-plus goal scorer in his Ontario Hockey League career, Mitchell has some offensive upside to his game. Considering his role and his minutes, Mitchell appears to be gaining confidence at the NHL level. He now has five points, including three goals in 13 games this season.
One thing is for sure, Mitchell has a fan in Boudreau, who has praised his game on several occasions since his recall.
"He's solid. He just plays the game. Doesn't talk much, doesn't say much, just goes out there and does what he has to do, whether it's eight minutes or 12 minutes," Boudreau said. "He's got some pretty good hands, so when he gets the opportunities, he puts pucks in the net."

Loose pucks

• Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 26 saves to earn the victory.

• Gibson finished with 28 saves on 31 shots.
• Minnesota went 0-for-2 with the man advantage but killed off all three Anaheim power plays.
• Zucker was also credited with an assist on Dumba's overtime winner and finished a plus-2.
• Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund each assisted on Zucker's goal.
• Coyle has points in nine of his 12 games played this season.
• Attendance: 16,471

He said it

"Bruce talked about it after the second period. The best part is we had an opportunity right away to right a wrong from last game and we played well in the third period and made big plays in overtime." -- Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk

They said it

"We kept fighting. Overall, the game was pretty evenly played. Couple bounces here and there. We continued to stick with it and give us a chance in overtime." -- Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler

Dan's three stars

* Jason Zucker
\\ Matt Dumba
\\* Zack Mitchell