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National Hockey League
Minnesota 5, Tampa Bay 4
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 20, 2018
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Gord Dwyer, Marc Joannette
Linesmen: Derek Amell, Steve Miller
Attendance: 19080

Mikael Granlund's overtime goal gave the Minnesota Wild a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday at Saint Paul, Minn.

Charlie Coyle dropped a pass to Granlund on the right side, and Granlund squeaked the puck past Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy for the game-winner at 3:43.

The Wild have now gone to overtime four times in their first eight games of the season, improving to 2-0-2 in such games.

The Lightning had firm control of the game after the opening period, outshooting Minnesota by a 16-9 margin and breaking out to a 3-1 lead on goals from Ryan Callahan, Yanni Gourde and J.T. Miller. Coyle kept his team afloat with the Wild's lone goal of the period, converting a Nino Niederreiter pass from behind the net at the 13:23 mark.

After the rough start, however, Minnesota took control in the second period, holding the visitors scoreless while outshooting the Lightning by a 13-8 margin. The Wild cut into the lead at the 3:49 mark as an Eric Fehr pass found a rushing Marcus Foligno, whose backhanded shot earned him his first goal of the season.

The Wild's dominance continued into the third period. They tied the game on Zach Parise's tap-in of a rebound off a Mikko Koivu shot at the 10:45 mark, and Jason Zucker gave Minnesota the lead with his team-leading fourth goal 13:13 into the period. Anton Stralman equalized for the Lightning less than two minutes later.

The Lightning were playing their first road game of the season after opening with a 4-1-0 mark on home ice. Saturday's loss extended Tampa Bay's winless streak in Minnesota to seven games, as the Lightning are 0-5-2 at the Xcel Energy Center since beating the Wild on April 2, 2011.

Alex Stalock made 27 saves to earn his first victory of the season. The Wild backup goalie got the call after regular starter Devan Dubnyk played in Friday night's 3-1 road win in Dallas.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Tampa Bay   Minnesota
Yanni Gourde 2 Points Charlie Coyle 2
Yanni Gourde 1 Goals Charlie Coyle 1
Yanni Gourde 1 Assists Charlie Coyle 1
J.T. Miller 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Andrei Vasilevskiy .853 Save Percentage Alex Stalock .871
Andrei Vasilevskiy 29 Saves Alex Stalock 27
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Tampa Bay 31 4 1-5 2-2 6 32
Minnesota 34 5 0-2 4-5 12 39
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Los Angeles. The Wild have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .400 after a loss.
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Lightning have a W/L % of .600 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.