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Koivu leads Wild comeback of Sharks

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San Jose, CA (Sports Network) - Mikko Koivu scored twice, including the game- winner with 14 seconds left in overtime, as the Minnesota Wild rallied from a three-goal deficit to upend the San Jose Sharks, 4-3, at HP Pavilion.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Marek Zidlicky also found the net for the Wild, who avoided a fifth straight setback. Brent Burns and Kim Johnsson each collected two assists, while Niklas Backstrom made 32 saves in the win.

Joe Pavelski lit the lamp on two occasions for the Sharks, who have dropped three in a row and four of five overall. Ryane Clowe registered a goal and an assist and Milan Michalek recorded three helpers. Making his fourth consecutive start in place of Evgeni Nabokov, who is hampered by a lower-body injury, Brian Boucher finished with 32 saves in the loss.

The Sharks took a 3-0 lead nine minutes into the middle frame on Pavelski's second tally of the game and 20th of the season, but a late Minnesota flurry closed the gap to 3-2 after 40 minutes of play.

Koivu put the Wild on the board with 2:08 left in the second period, deflecting Marc-Andre Bergeron's bomb from the point. Bouchard then lit the lamp 1:26 later, coming off the right-wing boards and drifting to the middle of the faceoff circle before unleashing a howitzer past the San Jose netminder.

A fortuitous bounce helped Minnesota complete the comeback. Zidlicky harmlessly flipped the puck on the backhand from center ice. As Boucher prepared to corral the bouncing puck, it skipped under the glove and across the goal line with 7:37 remaining in the third period.

Minnesota's top-ranked penalty-killing unit denied San Jose on the man advantage late in regulation to send the game into overtime, where Koivu tapped in a rebound of a Burns shot for the deciding tally.

Pavelski crashed the net and tipped Clowe's centering pass from along the left-corner boards in behind Backstrom at 11:23 of the first period. Clowe then gave the home team a two-goal edge at 15:15, snapping a wrister over Backstrom's shoulder for his 22nd.

Game Notes

Zidlicky notched his 11th goal of the season and first at even strength. All 10 of his previous tallies came on the power play...The Sharks have earned at least a point in 10 straight games against Minnesota (8-0-2)...San Jose, which wasn't guilty of any infractions, finished 0-for-2 on the power play.

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