1. San Jose staved off a furious Wild rally.
Barclay Goodrow's goal 7:25 into the third period stemmed the tide of a Wild comeback. The Wild had scored twice earlier in the period to tie the game, but Goodrow's goal gave the Sharks the lead for good.
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak against San Jose for Minnesota, which included a three-game winning streak in Northern California.
2. Minnesota got offense from defense.
Trailing by a pair of goals headed to the third period, Jared Spurgeon cut the deficit in half with a blast from the point just 1:22 into the period.
Just over two minutes later, it was another clapper, this time from Matt Dumba, that knotted the contest at 3 apiece.
The Wild now has 14 goals this season from its blueline, tied for second-most in the NHL.
3. Eric Staal missed the game because of illness.
This is a rare occurrence for the veteran centerman, who hadn't missed a single game since signing with the Wild in 2016, skating in all 177 possible games.
Staal's absence in the Wild lineup was certainly felt; after a slow start to the season, he's scored three goals and three assists over the team's past four games, with Minnesota securing three wins in those contests.
With Staal out, the Wild's depth was certainly on display. Fourth-line centerman Eric Fehr jumped right into Staal's spot between Jordan Greenway and Charlie Coyle, while Matt Hendricks, out with a lower-body injury the past few weeks, saw his first action since Oct. 16.
