Wild Score 8 Goals in Final 2 Periods, Coyotes’ Kuemper Hurt

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Marcus Foligno and Mats Zuccarello each had a goal and two assists and the Minnesota Wild beat the Arizona Coyotes 8-5 on Thursday night.

Ryan Suter Marcus Foligno
Marcus Foligno and Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The Wild snapped a three-game losing streak, scoring eight goals on 33 shots, including an empty-net goal in the final seconds.

Arizona lost for the fourth time in five home games and the setback was compounded by an injury to No. 1 goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who had to be helped off the ice with 3:08 remaining in the game after spreading to make a save on a shot by Ryan Hartman.

Hartman, Eric Staal and Brad Hunt each had a goal and assist. Ryan Suter, Ryan Donato and Luke Kunin also scored for Minnesota. Devan Dubnyk had 35 saves in his first game since Nov. 16.

The Wild scored four goals in the second and third periods after trailing 1-0 at the end of the first.

Jakob Chychrun scored two goals, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Clayton Keller and Phil Kessel also scored for the Coyotes. Newly acquired forward Taylor Hall, in his home debut, got the primary assist on Kessel’s first-period goal.

Taylor Hall Arizona Coyotes
Taylor Hall, Arizona Coyotes (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Nick Schmaltz had three assists, raising his team-high point total to 27, and Alex Goligoski added two assists for the Coyotes.

The third period saw Arizona draw even at 4, with two of four goals scored in less than five minutes to start the period. The Wild answered with the next two goals and four of the final five.

Kuemper entered the game with a 15-7-2 mark as a starter in goal and a 1.97 goals-against average. He was replaced by Antti Raanta.

NOTES: The Wild activated D Jared Spurgeon, who played Thursday. Spurgeon had been out since Dec. 3 with an upper-body injury. D Brennan Menell was re-assigned to Iowa of the AHL. … F Jason Zucker was scratched after being sent back to Minnesota because of a lower-body injury that could cost him at least a week. … F Conor Garland, the Coyotes leading goal scorer with 12, was scratched with an upper-body injury, and the Coyotes announced he is day-to-day. Garland hadn’t missed a game all season. … F Christian Fischer was back in the lineup after being scratched Tuesday at San Jose. … Hall was introduced as a starter before the game and received a loud cheer from the crowd.

UP NEXT

Minnesota: Host Winnipeg on Saturday.

Arizona: At Detroit Sunday, the first meeting between the teams this season.

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Jose M. Romero, The Associated Press