Sharks 1 - 3 Wild
Final
  for this game

Wild edge Sharks

Dec 9, 2013 - 4:31 AM St. Paul, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Zach Parise potted a pair of goals and Josh Harding posted a season-high 37 saves, as the Minnesota Wild edged the San Jose Sharks, 3-1, on Sunday at Xcel Energy Center.

Mikko Koivu also lit the lamp for the Wild, who have won three of their last four games.

"We did a great job defending tonight," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "We were really sharp in our own zone. Against the rush, we were clear and decisive, picking out the right guys, sorting things out.

"But we just did an awful lot of that. That's why it's hard to get shots if you're defending as much as we were tonight."

Patrick Marleau scored the Sharks' lone goal, while Antti Niemi allowed two goals on 12 shots in the setback, which extended San Jose's losing streak to a season-high three games.

After a scoreless opening frame, the Sharks peppered Harding with 21 shots in the second period, but Minnesota notched the only two goals of the stanza despite managing just six shots.

Parise got the Wild on the board at the 3:55 mark when a long rebound off a left point blast from Marco Scandella ended up between the circles, where Parise backhanded it home for a 1-0 lead.

Sharks coach Todd McLellan thought the goal shouldn't have counted.

"I'll be looking for an explanation," McLellan said. "I don't know how the outcome of the game would've gone, who knows what happens if that's disallowed."

Minnesota doubled the margin under five minutes later when Koivu was given room to work above the right circle and made his way to the slot before rifling a wrister past the blocker side of Niemi for a 2-0 lead at 8:11.

Marleau made things interesting with his 13th of the season at 18:19, but Parise put home an empty-netter in the closing seconds to account for the final margin.

Game Notes

San Jose fell to 9-5-3 on the road, while Minnesota improved to 13-3-2 at home this season ... Minnesota has won six straight at home against San Jose ... San Jose's Joe Thornton had his point-streak snapped at eight games ... San Jose went 0-for-4 on the power play, while Minnesota finished 0-for-2.






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