TORONTO _ Getting into a shootout with the high-flying Maple Leafs didn't look like the smartest strategy for the goal-starved Wild.
But it worked.
The Wild erased a two-goal deficit to pull out a 4-3 win over the Maple Leafs in front of 19,244 Thursday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena that opened the team's four-game, Eastern Conference road trip with just its second victory in the last eight games.
Winger Zach Parise sealed the rally with his team-leading 18th goal four minutes, 21 seconds into the third, a much better finish than the team's start.
"Sometimes you are just destined to get a little bit of luck," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said.
Despite winning the opening faceoff, the Wild fell behind just seven seconds later once Toronto winger Mitch Marner pounced on a loose puck and lifted a rising backhander by goalie Devan Dubnyk for the fastest goal against the Wild in franchise history _ surpassing the previous record of 13 seconds by Brenden Morrow in a 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars Oct. 29, 2008.
Marner's goal also tied the Maple Leafs' franchise record for quickest goal to start a game, matching Charlie Conacher's feat from 1932.
The Wild's hole doubled on another goal by Marner on Toronto's fourth shot, this one off a give-and-go amid a smattering of Wild players in front of the net at 5:38.
"We kept pushing," Dubnyk said. "We didn't start thinking here we go again. We stuck with it."
After that, the Wild morphed into the better team on the ice _ racking up 19 first-period shots, which tied their season high for the frame _ en route to cutting their deficit in half. At 9:10, center Charlie Coyle's backhand eluded goalie Michael Hutchinson, who was recalled from the minors just hours before puck drop with No. 1 Frederik Andersen out with a groin injury and Garret Sparks sidelined to go through concussion protocol.
Peppering Hutchinson with shots paid off, as the Wild tied it at 2 only 5:09 into the second after captain Mikko Koivu buried the rebound from an Eric Staal shot off the post. After a 14-game goalless skid, Koivu has two goals in his last two games.
Toronto regained the lead 3:07 later on winger William Nylander's first goal of the season, a top-shelf finish after he skated out from behind the net.
But again, the Wild responded. This time, defenseman Jared Spurgeon slid a shot five-hole on Hutchinson at 9:36. Spurgeon also had a pair of assists to register three points, tying his career-high.
That opened the door for the Parise, Coyle and winger Luke Kunin combination to push the team ahead in the third. Parise and Coyle each finished with a goal and an assist.
Four goals are the most the Wild has scored since they racked up five Dec. 13 against the Panthers.
Dubnyk had 38 saves, while Hutchinson posted 30.
Neither team scored on the power play; the Wild went 0 for- 1, and Toronto was 0 for 4.
