ANAHEIM, Calif. — The outcome was the same, but this time the Wild could feel proud about how the team achieved it.
After shaking off the listless Ducks with a sloppy effort Thursday, the Wild were much crisper in the rematch Saturday — cruising to a 5-1 win at Honda Center that capped off a two-game sweep in Anaheim.
Goalie Kaapo Kahkonen recorded 26 saves and in front of him, Kevin Fiala was dynamic during a three-point night.
Fiala has netted back-to-back game-winners.
Mats Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov had two-point performances, with Kaprizov becoming the NHL's leading scorer among rookies with 11 points after a pair of assists.
As in the 3-1 victory Thursday, the Wild jumped to a two-goal lead in the first period after a pair of scores in quick succession.
Zuccarello was the first to convert, burying a Kaprizov feed over Anaheim goalie John Gibson's glove 15 minutes, 7 seconds into the first period. The goal was Zuccarello's first of the season and second point in as many games, a sign the winger is getting comfortable after his debut was delayed by offseason arm surgery.
Just 1:10 later, the Wild doubled their lead on an impressive individual play by Fiala. After breezing by Ducks defenseman Ben Hutton, Fiala used his body to gain positioning on Hutton and wire the puck by Gibson — all at top speed off the rush for his second goal of the two-game series.
Unlike the previous game, the Wild didn't sag after moving ahead by a pair of goals.
Instead, they continued to grow their advantage.
And it was the power play that was finally the catalyst.
During its second opportunity of the game, the beleaguered unit capitalized for just the fourth time this season (in 52 tries) when Fiala buried a loose puck in tight 3 minutes into the second period — a finish that elicited an emphatic celebration from the winger.
The power play came close to scoring the previous game, with Marcus Foligno getting a goal just as the Ducks got back to full strength, but the strike didn't statistically improve the NHL's worst power play.
Just generating momentum for the team would have been a boon for the Wild after the power play seemed to drain the team on Thursday ahead of Foligno's tally. But it did one better, securing a much-needed goal for the team.
The power play finished the game 1 for 2, while the Ducks went 0 for 3.
As for Fiala, it was the 10th two-goal game of his career and fifth with the Wild. He's also responsible for half of the Wild's four power-play goals this season. Jordan Greenway earned an assist on the play, and he's tied with Kaprizov for the most points on the Wild (11).
But the Ducks were also more engaged than last game and didn't shrink after falling behind by three goals.
They actually got one back before the second ended, at 16:29, when David Backes — who was set up as a screen in front of Kahkonen — tipped a windup from Josh Mahura.
That didn't bother the Wild, though, as the team tacked on another goal in the third period after Victor Rask one-timed the puck past Gibson at 5:45 to complete a play orchestrated by Kaprizov and Zuccarello for Rask's fourth goal of the season in his first game back since getting sidelined by the NHL's COVID-19 protocols. He has three goals in his last three games.
And then at 14:26, Fiala tied his career high for points in a game when he passed off a chance at a hat trick to help organize a goal by Joel Eriksosn Ek.
Gibson totaled 24 stops for Anaheim.
