ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Fiala had two goals and an assist, Kaapo Kahkonen made 26 saves and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Anaheim Ducks 5-1 on Saturday night.
“Especially tonight, I felt my game was where it’s supposed to be so I have to try to keep going,” Fiala said.
Joel Eriksson Ek, Victor Rask and Mats Zuccarello also scored for the Wild, who swept a two-game set against the Ducks.
David Backes scored, John Gibson made 24 saves and Anaheim lost its third straight.
Fiala continued his hot streak, having scored all of his team-leading six goals in his last seven games. He gave Minnesota a 2-0 lead at 16:17 of the first period, beating Ducks defenseman Ben Hutton to a loose puck in the offensive zone and putting a shot into Gibson’s side that trickled in. Fiala also had a power-play goal to make it 3-0 three minutes into the second.
Fiala had three goals in the two games against the Ducks, including both winners, extending his knack for getting the best of Anaheim. He has eight goals in 12 career games versus Anaheim, the most against any NHL team, and two of his 10 multi-goal games have come against the Ducks.
“Yeah, I like playing in Anaheim,” Fiala said. “I didn’t know that record.”
Wild coach Dean Evason praised the unselfish and well-rounded nature of Fiala’s game, which was evident when he passed up his chance for his first hat trick and instead passed to Ryan Hartman, who set up Eriksson Ek’s sixth goal to make it 5-1 at 14:26.
“When Kevin Fiala is a good teammate and he’s sharing the puck and he’s playing within the system and doing all those right things, Kevin Fiala has success,” Evason. “So we’re very encouraged with how he played. His attitude, his demeanor, his body language on the ice and on the bench was real good.”
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