Spurgeon scores in OT, Wild beat Sharks to take playoff spot
The Wild are heading to the playoffs for the 9th time in the last 10 seasons.
Jared Spurgeon scored his second goal of the game 1:05 into overtime to send the Minnesota Wild to the playoffs with a 5-4 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.
Kevin Fiala, Dmitry Kulikov and Matt Boldy also scored and Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves to help Minnesota wrap up its 12th playoff berth.
The Wild have 101 points, one behind St. Louis for second place in the Central Division after the Blues beat Nashville on Sunday. The Predators and idle Dallas have 91 points as the top-two wild card teams.
Rudolfs Balcers, Matt Nieto, Noah Gregor and Nick Bonino scored for San Jose. The Sharks trailed 2-0 midway through the first period, then nearly stalled Minnesota’s playoff bid for a day.