Suter, Zucker fuel late flurry in Wild’s victory over Ducks

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Known as a steady, minute-munching defenseman, Ryan Suter also had a big game at the other end of the rink Saturday.

Suter, Erik Haula and Las Vegas product Jason Zucker scored in a two-minute span late in the third period as the Minnesota Wild rallied for a 5-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.

It was the second goal of the game for both Zucker and Haula.

The Western Conference-leading Wild are 19-2-1 in their past 22 games.

“It was loud; the crowd was into it. It was a lot of fun,” said Suter, who tied a career high with a plus-4 on his 32nd birthday and improved to an NHL-best plus-30.

Suter entered second in per-game average ice time of 27:11. He also had an assist for his sixth multipoint game of the season.

Should he be considered a goal scorer, too?

“Are you trying to jinx it?” Suter said with a laugh. “When we’re playing good, we know we’re going to score goals.”

It was the third time in nine games Minnesota came from two goals down to win.

“I think a lot of guys are confident that they can do it over and over again,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Certainly we wouldn’t like to do it all the time.”

Capitals 4, Stars 3, OT — At Dallas, Jay Beagle scored 19 seconds into overtime as Washington overcame a 3-1 deficit. Former Las Vegas Wranglers right wing Adam Cracknell scored for Dallas.

Coyotes 5, Lightning 3 — At Glendale, Ariz., Radim Vrbata had a goal and three assists, and 19-year-old Christian Fischer scored in his first NHL game for Arizona, which halted a four-game slide.

Sharks 3, Avalanche 2, OT — At San Jose, Calif., David Schlemko scored his second goal of the season 1:18 into overtime to back Martin Jones, who had 31 saves, as San Jose won its fourth straight.

Blue Jackets 3, Hurricanes 2 — At Columbus, Ohio, Scott Hartnell scored his second goal of the game midway through the third period to back winner Sergei Bobrovsky, who had 35 saves.

Jets 5, Blues 3 — At Winnipeg, Manitoba, Bryan Little scored two power-play goals to back Ondrej Pavelec, who had a Winnipeg-record 25 saves in the second period and finished with 34.

Oilers 7, Flames 3 — At Calgary, Alberta, Jordan Eberle had two goals and two assists, and Laurent Brossoit had 38 saves for his first NHL win in his first start this season and seventh career game.

Islanders 4, Kings 2 — At New York, Anders Lee scored two power-play goals to back Jean-Francois Berube, who had 34 saves to post his first win in his third start of the season.

Sabres 3, Canadiens 2 — At Montreal, Zach Bogosian scored his first goal of the season with a slap shot 1:48 into overtime to back Robin Lehner, who had 36 saves.

Senators 3, Maple Leafs 2, SO — At Toronto, Mike Hoffman scored the tying goal for Ottawa with 1:11 left in regulation, and Tom Pyatt tallied the shootout winner.

Devils 4, Flyers 1 — At Philadelphia, Miles Wood scored twice to back Keith Kinkaid, who had 35 saves in New Jersey’s fourth victory in five games.