Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 6, Sharks 3

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 6-3 win against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose, California on Saturday night:

1. Minnesota finished off the regular season in style, surpassing the 100-point plateau in the process.
The Wild scored goals 3:59 apart in the first period to grab the lead, but saw the Sharks bite back with two goals in a span of just 64 seconds to even the game heading into the first intermission.
No problem.
After the Wild went an extended time without recording a shot on goal, Minnesota connected on three shots in 4 minutes, 6 seconds late in the second to open up a three-goal advantage.
Jonas Brodin and Matt Cullen scored first period tallies while Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker accounted for the three in the second, including Zucker's 32nd and 33rd tallies only moments after his wife, Carly, trolled him on Twitter.
Tweet from @CarlyAplin: When your favorite athlete pops up on your TV #meow pic.twitter.com/MrV1Y1PExX
After San Jose pulled its goaltender in the final minutes and got within 5-3, Eric Staal scored into the empty net, tying Marian Gaborik's franchise record with 42 goals on the season.
Nino Niederreiter and Tyler Ennis has two-assist nights for the Wild, as it reached the century mark in points for the fourth time in franchise history, finishing with 101.
It also extended a nice streak for Bruce Boudreau, whose teams have now reached at least 100 points in all eight seasons where he's served a full campaign a head coach.
2. Saturday was for the (first-year) boys.
Both Louie Belpedio, who was making his NHL debut on Saturday, and Jordan Greenway, playing in his sixth NHL game, found the scoresheet for the first time in their respective careers.
A two-year captain at Miami of Ohio and 2014 third-round draft pick of the Wild, Belpedio signed his entry-level contract on Thursday and met the team in Los Angeles after playing in 10 games in Iowa on an amateur tryout.
It took him until his seventh game with Iowa to get his first AHL point, but it took him all of 14 minutes, 52 seconds to get his first NHL point, garnering the second assist on Matt Cullen's first-period goal that gave the Wild a 2-0 lead.

He also assisted on Jason Zucker's second goal of the night, one that put Minnesota ahead 5-2 late in the second period. In doing so, he became the first player in Wild history to post a multi-point night in his NHL debut.

Greenway provided the primary assist on Granlund's second-period snipe from the top of the right circle, which gave the Wild the lead for good.

3. It's on to Winnipeg.
The Wild has known its playoff destination for a couple of days now, and with nothing left to play for in the standings, its focus has been on getting to the end of the regular season as healthy as possible.
It's done that now, and Minnesota will turn its attention to its rivals from the north. It will be the first ever playoff series between the two clubs and the first between two franchises from Minnesota and Winnipeg, dating back to the North Stars and the first incarnation of the Jets.
Game 1 of that series will begin at Bell MTS Place on either Wednesday or Thursday. The NHL will announce the dates and times of all games in the first round on Sunday.
The result of the game, combined with Anaheim's win in Arizona, means the Ducks rallied during the season's final weekend, moving from the top wild card position in the West (and a trip to Vegas) all the way to the second-place spot in the Pacific Division, where it will host San Jose for Game 1 of the first round. The Sharks entered the night in control of its own destiny for the home-ice advantage in Round 1.
The Colorado Avalanche also defeated the St. Louis Blues in regulation, meaning the Avs will make the postseason one year removed from posting just 48 points. Colorado will play Nashville in the first round.
Los Angeles lost to Dallas on Saturday, meaning it will finish as the conference's top wild card. It opens the playoffs against the Pacific Division champion Golden Knights.
Related:
- Injuries affecting Central Division teams in playoff push - Belpedio joins Wild for final games of season