TORONTO (AP) — With just one win in seven games the Minnesota Wild needed a lift. Zach Parise provided it.Parise broke a tie off a turnover early in the third period and the Wild rallied to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Thursday.“It’s been some tough sledding for us
Derek Ryan Jersey Womens ,” Parise said. “We played a pretty solid game.”Auston Matthews lost the puck to Parise, who beat goalie Michael Hutchinson high over his glove at 4:21 for his 18th goal of the season. Minnesota overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-2.“We kept pushing even when they got the 3-2 (lead),” said Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk, who was just named to his third all-star game. “We just stuck with it.”Toronto got a power play midway through the period, with Matthews hitting the post short side on Dubnyk. The Leafs pulled Hutchinson with 2:45 left, but were unable to get anything past the Wild netminder, including a chance that dribbled off the post in the dying seconds.“You’ve got to learn how to win all kinds of games
John Carlson Jersey ,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. “They’re a veteran team, they make it hard on you. We scored twice in the first period … I didn’t like our first period. They were better than us. After that I liked our game a lot.”Jared Spurgeon had a goal and two assists, Charlie Coyle added a goal and an assist, and Mikko Koivu also scored for Minnesota. Dubnyk stopped 38 shots.Mitch Marner scored twice and William Nylander had the other goal for Toronto, which lost its second straight. John Tavares added two assists for the Leafs, and Hutchinson made 30 saves in his debut in an emergency recall from the minors. Hutchinson has only been with the organization since Saturday following a trade with the Florida Panthers.Marner staked the Leafs to an early lead when he snared a loose puck off the opening faceoff and fired a backhander off the post and in after just seven seconds to tie the Leafs’ franchise record for fastest goal at the start of a game. The 21-year-old winger made it 2-0 at 5:38 with his 15th goal of the season and ninth in the last eight games, scoring off a give-and-go with Tavares.Coyle cut the deficit to 2-1 at 9:10 when he scored his seventh on a rebound and the Wild tied it at 5:09 of the second when Koivu swatted his sixth past a down-and-out Hutchinson.Nylander responded with his first goal of the year when he beat Dubnyk upstairs at 8:16 to make it 3-2. The winger had just two points in his 11 previous games since his contract impasse with the Leafs ended on Dec. 1 with a six-year
Lars Eller Jersey , $45 million deal.Parise hit the crossbar moments later, but the Wild evened the score at 9:36 when Spurgeon put a shot through Hutchinson’s pads for his fifth goal of the season.NOTES: Marner’s first goal tied Charlie Conacher’s team record set Feb. 6, 1932 against the Boston Bruins. … Hutchinson was 1-1-2 with an .839 save percentage and a 4.18 goals-against average in four games for the Panthers this season, but was a respectable 43-39-11 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.65 GAA in 102 games between 2013 and 2018 with Winnipeg. … Hutchinson and fellow netminder Kasimir Kaskisuo were recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis with both No. 1 goalie Frederik Andersen (groin) and backup Garret Sparks (concussion protocol) out. Andersen is on injured reserve while Sparks, who took a shot up high in Wednesday’s practice after starting Toronto’s last three games, sat out for precautionary reasons. … Tavares and Matthews were named as Toronto’s All-Star representatives. … Scotiabank Arena had significantly more kids than usual for a matinee start that included a flashy opening ceremony with children dressed up as players, referees and announcers. There were even miniature versions of Leafs coach Mike Babcock and famed Hockey Night in Canada commentator Don Cherry.UP NEXTWild: At Ottawa on Saturday.Maple Leafs: Host Vancouver on Saturday night. SAN JOSE
Madison Bowey Jersey , Calif. (AP) Logan Couture agreed to a $64 million, eight-year contract extension with the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, according to a person familiar with the deal.The person told The Associated Press that the deal will become official as soon as Sunday, when Couture is eligible to sign the extension. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced.Couture is entering the final year of a $30 million, five-year contract and now will be locked up through the 2026-27 season.Couture was a first-round pick by San Jose in 2007 and has said he never wants to leave the franchise. He has developed into one of the Sharks’ top forwards since making his debut in 2009 and is coming off a career-high 34-goal season.Couture was San Jose’s most dependable center last season, often matching up against the opponent’s top line and providing plenty of offense of his own from the second line. Couture had 21 assists last year and was a major part of the power play and penalty killing units.The 29-year-old has 213 goals and 224 assists in 582 career games. He also has been a postseason standout, leading the NHL with 30 points in 2016 when he helped San Jose reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in franchise history before losing to Pittsburgh in six games.Couture has 34 goals and 47 assists in 96 career playoff games
Nicklas Backstrom Jersey , ranking in the top 10 in the NHL in playoff goals and points since making his postseason debut in 2010.Locking up Couture was the first move made by general manager Doug Wilson this offseason. San Jose still is looking to re-sign center Joe Thornton and is making a run at New York Islanders center John Tavares.Thornton will be 39 next season and coming off his second major knee injury. He tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee on Jan. 23 and never returned to the lineup. He had a similar injury to his left knee the previous season and played four games in the postseason before undergoing offseason surgery.Thornton still performed at a high level last season after taking some time to get back up to speed. He had 11 goals and 15 assists in his final 28 games before the injury.The Sharks also met with Tavares this week, hoping to lure the top available free agent to San Jose. Tavares, who turns 28 in September, is one of the top centers in the league and would step into Thornton’s old role on the top line.The No. 1 overall pick by the New York Islanders in 2009 is coming off one of his most productive seasons as a pro. He had 37 goals and 47 assists last season, finishing one off his career best in both marks.Adding Tavares would provide perhaps the only missing piece to make the Sharks one of the top contenders for the Stanley Cup next season. San Jose lost in six games in the second round to eventual Western Conference champion Vegas and has a stellar defense led by Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brent Burns, a reliable goaltender in Martin Jones, and forwards like Couture
James Neal Jersey Womens , Evander Kane and captain Joe Pavelski already under contract.Pavelski also is entering the final year of his contract and is eligible for an extension starting Sunday. Pavelski turns 34 this month.—
