Ducks top Wild

ST. PAUL - Anaheim Ducks right winger Jakob Silfverberg had a goal and an assist to help his team snap a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 NHL victory over the Minnesota Wild on Friday.
Silfverberg set up defenseman Francois Beauchemin’s first-period goal, then scored his own in the second as Anaheim’s recent domination of the Wild continued. Minnesota, which has been the NHL’s hottest team recently, fell to 1-8-1 in the last 10 games versus the Ducks.
Ducks goalie John Gibson had 32 saves in the win for Anaheim (43-20-7). After losses in Vancouver and Calgary, the Ducks salvaged one win on their three-game road swing.
Left winger Zach Parise scored the lone goal for the Wild (37-24-7), who are 17-4-1 since the All-Star break and play 13 of their final 15 games against probable playoff teams.
Devan Dubnyk took the loss in goal with 22 saves.
The first period featured only one goal but was not lacking excitement, starting in the opening seconds when Ducks defenseman Clayton Stoner and Wild right winger Chris Stewart exchanged words, then exchanged punches. Both were given major penalties for fighting.
With under a minute to play, Silfverberg left a perfectly placed drop pass for Beauchemin, who was just crossing the blue line. Beauchemin ripped a knee-high slap shot through a screen that sailed past Dubnyk’s glove before the goalie could react.
Minnesota tied it at 1-1 on a second-period power play. The trouble for Anaheim began a few minutes earlier when right winger Corey Perry bumped Dubnyk behind the net and the goalie flopped to the ice, drawing a penalty. On the ensuing power play, Wild left winger Thomas Vanek threw the puck at Gibson from a wide angle, and Parise, crashing hard to the net, swatted in the rebound, which was sitting loose in the crease.
A short time later, with the teams skating 4-on-4, a clearing attempt by Wild defenseman Matt Dumba was intercepted by Ducks defenseman Simon Despres, who snapped a shot toward the Minnesota net. Silfverberg, posted five feet out from the crease, deflected the shot downward, where it slipped between Dubnyk’s knees, putting Anaheim ahead 2-1.
Minnesota pulled Dubnyk with 96 seconds to play and got four shots on Gibson in the frantic final stretch, but could not get the equalizer. Anaheim is now a NHL-best 27-1-7 in games decided by one goal.
-- Friday’s game was the 500th sellout of a regular-season home game in Minnesota Wild history. The Wild have hosted 549 regular-season games since joining the NHL as an expansion team in 2000, and have sold out all of their home contests this season.
-- According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Wild set a franchise record in their 6-2 win over the New Jersey Devils earlier in the week when 14 different players recorded a goal or an assist.