Music: {allcanada} Wild win 4th straight, top Canucks in 7-round shootout

Friday, February 28, 2014

{allcanada} Wild win 4th straight, top Canucks in 7-round shootout

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VANCOUVER -- Rookie Justin Fontaine scored the only goal of the shootout, in the seventh round, to give the Minnesota Wild a 2-1 win against the Vancouver Canucks on Friday at Rogers Arena.

Fontaine faked a shot as he cut across the crease and slid the puck back through the legs of Canucks goalie Eddie Lack. Wild rookie goalie Darcy Kuemper made his seventh straight stop on a David Booth spin move atop the crease to preserve Minnesota's fourth straight win.

Zach Parise scored in the first period for the Wild, who increased their wild-card cushion in the Western Conference Stanley Cup Playoff race.

Ryan Kesler scored for the Canucks, who couldn't build on a 1-0 win over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday that snapped a seven-game losing streak.

Vancouver's power play, which came into the game ranked 28th in the NHL, failed to convert a two-minute chance in overtime, managing one shot with Parise off for boarding defenseman Christopher Tanev.

The point did move Vancouver ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes into a tie with the Dallas Stars for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. But the Canucks fell seven points behind the Wild, who hold the first wild card, and Vancouver has played more games. The Canucks have played one more game than the Wild, two more than the Coyotes, and three more than the Stars.

Vancouver plays the Ottawa Senators on Sunday in the 2014 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic at BC Place.

Kuemper made his 14th straight start coming off a 21-save shutout of the Edmonton Oilers the night before, and finished with 30 saves.

Lack got a second start ahead of Roberto Luongo after shutting out the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, and finished with 21 saves.

Kesler, back after missing the first game after the 2014 Sochi Olympics because he injured his hand there, opened the scoring shorthanded 5:19 into the first period. He skated onto a chip pass from Chris Higgins at center ice and into a partial break, snapping a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle past Kuemper's blocker.

Minnesota appeared to tie it a little more than three minutes later when Keith Ballard's point shot through traffic went in off the post, but referee Brad Meier immediately waved it off for goalie interference. Wild forward Erik Haula was atop the crease, but did not appear to make much, if any contact, with Lack before the puck went in.

The Wild got one that counted on the power play with 5:48 left in the first period. Lack made a couple great saves early, gloving Jason Pominville's shot from the left faceoff dot and kicking out the left pad to deny a Jonas Brodin one-timer. But he never saw Parise's wrist shot as he circled off the left boards above the circle before firing it through Dany Heatley's screen and in high on the blocker side.

Parise has five goals and 11 points in his past seven games.

The game tightened up in a scoreless second period, with Kuemper making a couple tough saves, including one on Henrik Sedin in tight early, and another on a Booth deflection midway through.

Kuemper made a great save early in the third period, sprawling out to get his right pad on Kesler's backhand attempt in tight after he collected a rebound and cut across the top of the crease.

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