Recap: Terry, Dostal Guide Ducks to Comeback Win in Minnesota

Troy Terry scored twice and Lukas Dostal made 35 saves as the Ducks earned a 3-2 comeback victory over the Minnesota Wild tonight at Xcel Energy Center.

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With the win, Anaheim's eighth third-period comeback of the season, the Ducks improved to 17-30-2 and have now earned points in three straight games (2-0-1). Anaheim hosts its final game prior to the 2024 NHL All-Star Break on Wednesday against San Jose.

Terry tied the game early in the the first and then scored the eventual game-winner with 8:20 to play in regulation. Ryan Strome also scored. Adam Henrique, Frank Vatrano, Bo Groulx, Radko Gudas and Urho Vaakanainen each tallied assists.

Dostal turned in one of the best performances of his young NHL career, earning his 13th win in the NHL with stops on 35-of-37 Minnesota shots - including each of the final 28 attempts.

Kirill Kaprizov and Jon Merrill scored for the Wild, who fell to 21-23-5 with their second consecutive defeat. Goaltender Filip Gustavsson totaled 22 saves.

Both teams got on the board early in the first thanks to a goal from their star wingers, with a bad-luck bounce being the difference after 20 minutes.

Kaprizov opened the scoring just under seven minutes in, converting a terrific cross-seam pass by Mats Zuccarello past a sliding Dostal.

Recently selected to his third straight NHL All-Star Game, Kaprizov leads the Wild in points (19-26=45) this season and ranks second in both goals and assists. He's collected six goals and nine points in his last five games, both second-best in the NHL during that span.

With the helper, his first of two on the night, Zuccarello clinched his eighth 30-assist season in the NHL. 

Terry answered a few minutes later for the Ducks, taking a centering pass from Vatrano and out-waiting Gustavsson from all alone in the slot for a snap shot over the blocker.

Terry's first goal of the night extended his point streak to a season-best five games. 

Anaheim's representative at next month's All-Star Game in Toronto, Vatrano has assists in two of his last three games. Groulx's assist was his second point this season and his fifth career point in the NHL.

The Wild would go back ahead late in the first though, when Zuccarello's point shot first redirected off Merrill's stick in the slot before ramping off Gudas' blade and then past Dostal.

Zuccarello has recorded multiple points in 10 of his 40 games this season, including three of his last seven outings.

Minnesota appeared to double the advantage early in the second period, with veteran Marcus Johansson using the screen of center Joel Eriksson-Ek to beat Dostal from the circle, but the goal was nullified after Anaheim's successful offside challenge.

The Wild outshot the Ducks 18-4 in the scoreless middle frame.

Anaheim would turn up the pressure early in the third though and a trio of veterans would team up to even the score. Skating along the offensive boards, Henrique got the puck to Gudas at the line, where the sturdy defenseman elected to throw a wrister on net. Strome then got inside positioning on Wild rookie blueliner Brock Faber, allowing him to tip the puck from the goaltender's left to right for the tying goal.

Henrique's two assists on the night pushed his own scoring streak to five. He has 10 points in his last seven appearances, including four multi-point performances.

Minnesota would have its chance to go back ahead for the third time with a power-play midway through the third, but a clutch kill by Anaheim would give Terry a chance at the decisive goal. Just after his penalty expired, the two-time All-Star winger attacked one-on-one against forward Ryan Hartman, who blocked the first shot but fell to the ice in the process. The rebound then came right back to Terry, with the free space from Hartman's tumble leading allowing Terry to beat Gustavsson up high.

With the two-goal performance, Terry tied Vatrano for Anaheim's team lead in scoring this season. Terry has multi-point efforts in three of his last five games and is now 11 goals shy of 100 for his NHL career.