Barker's OT Goal Gives Wild 6-5 Win Over Coyotes
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Cam Barker scored 46 seconds into overtime after Pierre-Marc Bouchard tied it with 26 seconds left in regulation in the Minnesota Wild's 6-5 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Sunday.
The teams scored six goals in the third period and both lost leads in the final 10 minutes of regulation.
WCCO Interviews Cam Barker
Podcast
Andrew Brunette scored twice, Brent Burns and Nick Schultz added goals, Mikko Koivu had four assists and Jose Theodore made 39 saves for the Wild. Ray Whitney scored twice for Phoenix, while Scottie Upshall, Keith Yandle and Ed Jovanovski added goals and Jason LaBarbera stopped 23 shots.
WCCO Interviews Mikko Koivu
Podcast
On the winner, Bouchard dug the puck out of the corner and found Barker on top of the left circle, and Barker's shot beat LaBarbera just inside the corner. It was the defenseman's first goal of the season.
Whitney gave Phoenix a 5-4 lead with 2:55 to play in the third. When Minnesota's Clayton Stoner missed a clearing attempt, Whitney knocked the puck past Theodore.
Entering the third period trailing 3-1, Phoenix tied it with goals 13 seconds apart.
Upshall made it 3-2 when he took a pass from Shane Doan and knocked it past Theodore. Upshall has five points in the past three games.
Yandle tied it when he knocked in the rebound of Vernon Fiddler's shot at 4:57 of the third period, prompting Minnesota coach Todd Richards to take his timeout.
Burns gave Minnesota a 4-3 lead with his 12th goal of the season at 11:14, but Jovanovski tied it for Phoenix about 3 minutes later with a diving goal.
WCCO Interviews Todd Richards
Podcast
The victory allowed Minnesota to rebound from a disappointing loss to Nashville on Friday night. The Coyotes have won only two of their past seven and three of their past 10 games.
The victory was the 250th of Theodore's career, making him one of only eight active NHL goalies to reach that mark.
NOTES: With two third-period assists, Shane Doan has points in six consecutive games and 21 points in the past 19 games. ... Minnesota is 14-2-2 when it scores at least three goals. ... Phoenix entered the game having fared better against teams from the Northwest Division than any other. The loss dropped the Coyotes to 6-2-2 against the Northwest. ... Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota's No. 1 goaltender, was given the game off. He was in a collision practice Thursday and didn't have his full mobility while playing Friday against Nashville. ... The Wild will open a three-game East Coast trip on Tuesday. The first game is at New Jersey, where Jacques Lemaire, the Wild's original coach, is again coaching. ... Minnesota RW Cal Clutterbuck returned to the lineup after sitting out Friday because of a lower-body injury.
(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
