The Minnesota Wild lost in San Jose, 4-2 Wednesday night.
Former Wild winger Martin Havlat got the scoring started when he beat Niklas Backstrom 1:34 into the game. Then Dan Boyle put a slick move on Ryan Suter and scored on the power play, giving the Sharks a two-goal lead a little more than five minutes into the first period.
Charlie Coyle, who started the game centering the second line because Matt Cullen is injured and Johan Larsson, who was called up for the game before being traded to Buffalo, was put back on the top line and scored halfway through the second period.
It didn’t take the Wild long to tie the game up. Dany Heatley blasted a puck from above the left circle to score the Wild’s second goal just 25 seconds after the first.
Later in the second period the Sharks took a 3-2 lead after Jared Spurgeon turned the puck over deep in the Wild’s zone. Joe Thornton was credited with the goal on a deflection.
San Jose went up 4-2 when T.J. Galiardi tapped in a rebound for a power play goal at 6:55 of the third period.
The Sharks have the best home winning percentage in the NHL, having lost in regulation at home just once.
