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Wild beat Ducks to stay alive

Apr 18, 2007 - 7:51 AM ST. PAUL, Minnesota (Ticker) -- After playing three games at the Anaheim Ducks' pace, Marian Gaborik and the Minnesota Wild finally got up to speed.

Gaborik scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Wild finally found a way to beat the Ducks, posting a 4-1 victory in Game Four of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.

The Ducks had won seven straight playoff games against the Wild. That streak ended, but they still hold a 3-1 lead in the series and can close things out at home on Thursday.

Minnesota lost each of the first three games by a goal and had scored just four goals in that span. Things were set up to go that way again with the game tied, 1-1, after two periods, but the Wild unleashed 15 of their 40 shots in the final period and finally found the back of the net with some of them.

Gaborik gave the Wild a 2-1 lead 3:23 into the final session. He took a few hacks at a rebound from the doorstep and slid the puck under the pads of Ilya Bryzgalov.

Left wing Brian Rolston and Mark Parrish made it 4-1 with goals midway through the period. Rolston, who led the team with 31 goals during the regular season, had been held scoreless in the first three games of the series.

"Our backs are against the wall for sure, but I didn't think we played any differently tonight than we had been," Rolston said. "We've been working hard and tonight we got a couple of bounces to go our way, but I thought the first three games we worked hard too."

Niklas Backstrom made 28 saves for the Wild, who are trying to join the 1975 New York Islanders and the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs as the only teams in league history to come back from a 3-0 deficit.

"We're playing for our life now," Backstrom said. "If you're not playing all out, it's too late. We have to keep doing the same thing each game."

Defenseman Chris Pronger gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal six minutes into the second session. Pierre-Marc Bouchard tied the game with 1:57 left in the session.

"We didn't really create as much of a forecheck as the previous game, and that gives them a lot more time to make plays," Pronger said. "We need to work harder than they are. They worked very hard tonight, battled hard for loose pucks and battled hard to win the one-on-one battles. We've got to get back home, recharge and get back to the style of play that we are capable of."

"It's been tough since the beginning of the series, but we showed a lot of character, we were skating well, making some good plays, getting some good shots," Bouchard said. "That's what we have to do in game five."