Belpedio looks the part, Staal ties record as Wild finishes on high note

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- On a night where Eric Staal tied a decade-old franchise record, the veteran needed to make some extra room inside the team's record book.
Defenseman Louie Belpedio assisted on a pair of goals, becoming the first player in Wild history to post a multi-point game in his NHL debut, helping the Wild to a 6-3 win against the San Jose Sharks in the 2017-18 regular season finale at SAP Center at San Jose.
Drafted 80th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft, and signed to his entry-level contract on Thursday following a 10-game stint in the American Hockey League and a standout four-year college career at Miami, Belpedio made a great first impression.

It took him seven games to tally his first pro point in Iowa, but it took him less than a period to find the scoresheet in the NHL, securing the second assist on Matt Cullen's goal at 14:52 of the first period on Saturday.
"I didn't even know I got it, to be honest, I just rimmed it around the boards," Belpedio said. "That's what happens when you're around good players. They make something out of nothing sometimes."
Cullen, drafted around the time Belpedio was celebrating his one-month birthday, has been an important rock for Belpedio to lean on in the 48 hours since joining the club.
"He's special, honestly," Belpedio said. "He's been one of the most welcoming guys in this room. It was pretty cool to be a part of a locker room with him in it."

Belpedio also assisted on Jason Zucker's second goal of the night late in the second period, one which made it a 5-2 game. That goal took the wind out of the Sharks' sails in a game that was critically important for the home team; had it earned just one point, San Jose would have hosted the Anaheim Ducks in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs next week.
Instead, the Ducks leapfrogged the Sharks in the Pacific Division standings, meaning Game 1 -- and any potential Game 7 -- of that series will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Minnesota had no such stakes on the line. Its first-round opponent has been decided for two days. There was talk of resting guys like Staal and Devan Dubnyk in preparation for the postseason.
But on a night where Staal tied Marian Gaborik's franchise record with 42 goals in a single season, Dubnyk made 27 saves, including 17 in the third period, as the Wild gained some momentum heading into the postseason.
Staal's record-tying marker came at 19:34 into an empty net.
"It's cool," said the 33-year-old, who's seen a
career resurgence
since signing with Minnesota before last season. "This is a great franchise, there's been great players here in the past, and to get your name mentioned alongside Marian ... means something special.
"It's been a fun year. I've said it a lot of times, but this (the playoffs) is where the real, real fun starts."
Belpedio, and fellow rookie Jordan Greenway, also gave their coach something to think about as Bruce Boudreau gets ready to put lines together for Game 1. Greenway earned his first NHL point on Mikael Granlund's second-period tally, which gave the Wild the lead for good.

"It's always great when they're making the coaches have tough decisions," Boudreau said. "I thought we had a lot of good play throughout the lineup."
The Wild is expecting Jared Spurgeon to practice on Monday and potentially be ready to play in Game 1, either Wednesday or Thursday, at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg.
And while Matt Dumba and Jonas Brodin are also lineup fixtures, Belpedio did his best to stake his claim for a look in the postseason as well.
"He was mobile, he moved pucks really well, he played simple, he got good shots through in the offensive zone," Dubnyk said. "I just said to him after the game, 'That's all you need to do, make simple, hard, quick plays and get it in the forwards' hands, and use your skill to do that. You don't have to do anything other than that at this level, is move pucks,' and I thought he did a great job of that tonight.
"If we can have someone that's skilled like that, and give us that side of the game, but is also be solid and simple like he was ... he looked real nice tonight in a debut in a tough building."
Related:
- Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 6, Sharks 3 - Belpedio joins Wild for final stretch of season