ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Matt Dumba is hardly the player most likely to score in overtime. The defenseman has just three goals this season for Minnesota.
But two of them have been game-winners in OT this week, the second coming Friday night to give the Wild a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
“I think he likes overtime,” Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said. “He’s such a good skater and he gets to roam a little bit. It works out really well for him.”
The Wild dominated the 3-on-3 overtime period against Anaheim. Dumba finally charged the net, faked one way and then wrapped the winning goal around John Gibson at 3:43 of the extra period.
“You have to be patient,” Dumba said. “Try not to take too many risks at the start and wait for those breakdowns. We stayed patient and it worked out.”
Jason Zucker and Zack Mitchell also scored for the Wild. Devan Dubnyk stopped 26 shots.
Adam Henrique and Kevin Roy scored for the Ducks, who are 2-7 in games that have gone beyond regulation. Gibson made 28 saves.
“It’s frustrating,” Anaheim’s Cam Fowler said. “It feels like we’re really tentative (in OT). We can’t seem to create any offensive chances. We’re trying to manage the puck, and one breakdown, it seems like it’s in the back of the net.”
This one played out much differently for Minnesota than its previous game, when the Wild led 2-1 going into the third period against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, only to lose 5-2.
The Wild led again 2-1 in the third Friday when Anaheim’s Corey Perry, flattened on the ice behind the Minnesota net, managed to punch the puck off the boards to Henrique, who slipped it behind Dubnyk for the tying goal at 13:35.
“I thought the reaction was so much different than against the Kings,” Boudreau said. “We went right back out the next shift and had a couple of good chances to score. I think we pressured them the rest of the game.”
Dubnyk credited the Wild, who had been struggling to score, with confusing Anaheim offensively.
“We’ve got guys driving the net and pulling up, and just running different plays rather than just going down the wall and throwing it at the net or working around the outside,” he said. “Teams are extremely good at playing in position defensively, so in order to create, you have to move around and confuse them a little bit.”
In games decided in overtime, the Ducks are 0-3.
“Disappointing,” said Francois Beauchemin. “I thought we had a decent hockey game. We played good at times. But they capitalized on our mistakes.
“We’re working hard (in overtime). We just haven’t found a way to win, to get one in OT yet.”
NOTES: Boudreau coached the Ducks for five seasons before coming to the Wild. . The goal for Henrique, acquired from New Jersey on Nov. 3, extended his point streak to five games (three goals, three assists) and marked the second-longest scoring streak to start a Ducks career. Teemu Selanne started with a 15-game streak. . The Wild are 18-10-3 in Anaheim. . Dumba thought the Wild learned a quick lesson from the loss to the Kings: “We played a really strong game tonight . especially after the other night, going into the same situation tonight with a 2-1 lead and coming out on top definitely shows that we learn from our mistakes.”
UP NEXT
Wild: Play at San Jose on Sunday in the finale of their three-game California trip.
Ducks: Complete their three-game homestand Monday against Carolina before leaving on a five-game road trip.
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