Wild tie it late, clinch 1st Western wild card in OT win against Ducks

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Matt Boldy scored with 18 seconds remaining in overtime after Joel Eriksson Ek tied it with 22 seconds left in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild clinched a berth into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a 3-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks at Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday.

Minnesota, which needed one point entering their regular-season finale to secure the first wild card from the Western Conference, clinched shortly after Eriksson Ek scored on a rebound to tie it 2-2 and force overtime with goalie Filip Gustavsson pulled for the extra skater.

The Wild will face the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference First Round.

“These games aren’t easy,” Eriksson Ek said. “You have [to] get your points playing against teams that are playing loose and can kind of get their shoulders down and sometimes kind of cheat the game, too.”

Frederick Gaudreau later found Boldy as the trailer on the rush to win it in the extra period.

“It took some competitive stamina for us to be able to get it, obviously with the 82nd game and 20 seconds left in the game, but I think it was good,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “I’m really happy for the guys. We battled hard throughout the year. Another hard-fought game tonight and found a way to win it, and now we’ve got a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup.”

Boldy and Marcus Johansson each had a goal and an assist, and Mats Zuccarello had two assists for the Wild (45-30-7), who won four of their final five games, with each victory coming in overtime. Gustavsson made 22 saves before Marc-Andre Fleury, who entered the game for overtime, stopped all five shots he faced to earn the win in his final NHL regular-season game.

“It was fun. It was fun just to go one more time out there and play the game I love,” Fleury said. “That was cool.”

Alex Killorn and Sam Colangelo scored for the Ducks (35-37-9), who have lost three in a row. Lukas Dostal made 37 saves.

“They played hard,” Anaheim coach Greg Cronin said. “… It’s just disappointing to lose that point, particularly when the play they made to tie it should never happen on a pulled goalie. You can’t get people below defenders. It's a bummer. I thought we played well enough to get a win. I thought they controlled the second period for the most part, and I thought the first and third were pretty even.”

Johansson gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead at 9:47 of the first period, cutting to the inside alone and scoring with a wrist shot.

Killorn tied it 1-1 at 13:48, beating Jake Middleton through the slot for the backhand at the goalmouth.

Colangelo gave Anaheim a 2-1 lead at 8:45 of the third period after Mason McTavish capitalized on a Middleton turnover in the neutral zone for a 2-on-1. McTavish passed across to Colangelo for the backhanded finish.

“They played real well,” Dostal said. “I thought it was an even game. Could go either way. We had it in our sight in the end. … And then in overtime it hurts too, I think it was 17 seconds there too or something. So yeah, it is what it is.”

NOTES: Fleury earned his 71st overtime win to extend his NHL record. Other goaltenders in the last 10 years who entered a game after regulation and earned a win are Ilya Sorokin on Jan. 25, 2025 (3-2 overtime win), Michal Neuvirth on Feb. 10, 2018 (4-3 shootout win) and Anton Forsberg on Jan. 2, 2016 (5-4 shootout win). … The Wild clinched a berth into the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 14th time in franchise history and for the 11th time in 13 seasons, which is tied for the most in the NHL since 2013 (Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning). They’re in search of their first series win since 2015, when they defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-2 in the first round.