VANCOUVER, British Columbia _ Maybe it was the two practices and a rest day in between that helped the Minnesota Wild, a slowdown in the schedule that served as an opportunity to get better acquainted with new interim coach Dean Evason.
Or perhaps it was the watchful eyes of their fathers that sparked the players, with the dads and other guests accompanying the team on this road trip cheering from a corner suite in Rogers Arena.
Whatever the motivation, the Wild shrugged out of its mini funk to rally in extra time for a 4-3 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday that secured Evason his first victory since he took over last Friday after former coach Bruce Boudreau was fired.
Winger Alex Galchenyuk delivered the decisive goal in the fifth round of the shootout, this after he scored his first goal with the Wild at 15:15 of the third to knot the score at 3.
The Wild is now five points back of the Coyotes for the second wild-card seed in the Western Conference.
Before then, Vancouver's J.T. Miller scored twice in the third to erase a one-goal deficit.
Trailing 2-1, Miller notched his first of the game just 1 minute, 28 seconds into the third when he redirected in a slap pass from Tyler Toffoli _ who was making his Canucks debut after being acquired in a trade from the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. The puck barely trickled past goalie Devan Dubnyk, who was making his first start since Feb. 9.
Only 3:15 later, Miller gave Vancouver its first lead of the game on a shot that handcuffed Dubnyk.
Before then, Dubnyk was almost unbeatable _ doing a solid job of tracking pucks through traffic. In the end, he posted 31 saves.
After being shut out 2-0 on Saturday by the San Jose Sharks in Evason's first game, the Wild scored on its first shot just 1:03 into the first period. A throw up ice by defenseman Matt Dumba rolled into Vancouver's end and once winger Kevin Fiala caught up to it, he flung the puck off the crossbar and behind goalie Jacob Markstrom for his 15th goal of the season _ a finish that uncorked a celebration by the dads from their perch high above the ice.
Over the last eight games, Fiala has 11 points. Since Feb. 4, his six goals are tied for third in the NHL.
That lead held for the rest of the first, but the Canucks upped their pressure. Early in the second, they were rewarded.
At 1:31, and just after killing off an abbreviated Wild power play, Vancouver scored the equalizer when center Jay Beagle redirected in a feed from defenseman Quinn Hughes.
Both teams went 0-for-2 on the power play.
The Canucks continued to test the Wild, very much looking like the team in contention for the top spot in the Pacific Division, but it was the Wild that scored next.
With 6:57 to go in the second, defenseman Brad Hunt sent a behind-the-net pass to center Luke Kunin and his one-timer squeaked by Markstrom and over the goal line to reinstate the Wild's lead.
But the Wild had trouble growing that cushion the rest of the period and especially in the third after the Canucks came out with a heavy push that culminated in a pair of goals before the period hit the five-minute mark.
Still, the team still worked for opportunities and it finally persevered on Galchenyuk's marker. He went for a wrap-around after scooping up the puck, and his shot caromed in off Vancouver defenseman Troy Stetcher.
Winger Mats Zuccarello recorded his second assist of the night on the goal.
Markstrom totaled 25 saves.
