Kuemper said. “They had a big push in their own building. I don’t know if we really held them at bay. They tied it up, but we were able to kind of hit the brakes after that happened and keep ourselves in it and then get a big shootout win.”Hertl recovered the puck behind the net and scored on a wrapar

LAS VEGAS (AP) The thought of playing an NHL game in his hometown never entered Jason Zucker’s mind when the Minnesota Wild made him their second-round pick in the 2010 draft.Leading up to Friday night it was all he could think about http://www.officiallightningprostore.com/authentic-adidas-ryan-mcdonagh-jersey , and he made the most of it.Zucker, the only NHL player raised in Nevada, scored a goal and assisted on another in leading the Wild to a 4-2 victory over the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.”It wasn’t even a dream, so I can’t even say it was a dream come true. I just never thought it was going to happen,” said Zucker, who was born in Southern California but moved to Las Vegas as an infant. ”It’s really cool to do it, and to have my family and friends here, my wife and kids, it doesn’t get any better than that.”The Wild, who had lost two in a row and four of seven, completed a 3-0 season sweep of the Pacific Division leaders in front of 18,295 fans.Charlie Coyle, Matt Dumba and Zach Parise also scored for the Wild, and Alex Stalock stopped 26 shots.”You could tell in the morning skate we were ready,” Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said. ”It goes to show when they put their mind to it Womens Steven Stamkos Jersey , they can play. This was something against a really good hockey team, a really fast team.”Erik Haula and Ryan Carpenter scored for the Golden Knights, who dropped to 24-9-2 at home and have lost four straight in T Mobile Arena.Marc-Andre Fleury, who fell to 2-8-0 in 10 starts against the Wild, made 26 saves. It was the first time Fleury lost back-to-back games in regulation this season.”We’ve had such success all year long. I don’t think we’ve had too many rough patches, especially at home,” Fleury said. ”It’s frustrating. We know we can be better. I know I can be better.”The Wild showed no signs of struggle without defenseman Jared Spurgeon, who leads the team in blocked shots (127) but partially tore his right hamstring against Colorado on Tuesday and is expected to miss at least four weeks. Minnesota, which had 18 blocked shots, ranks 28th with its penalty kill on the road but stopped Vegas on all three power plays.In his homecoming, Zucker gave the Wild a 1-0 lead midway through the first period with his 29th goal of the season.Coyle extended his point streak to five games when he backhanded a loose puck over Fleury’s stick midway through the second. Coyle has three goals and three assists in his last five games.Moments later, Zucker fed Dumba, who lifted the puck over a sprawled-out Fleury to extend Minnesota’s lead to 3-0 with 13:24 left in the period. Eric Staal, who ranks fifth in the league with 37 goals and leads all NHL players with four versus Vegas, now has six points against the Golden Knights after assisting on Dumba’s goal.With Jonas Brodin’s assist on Coyle’s goal and Dumba’s 11th goal of the season Tyler Johnson Jersey , Minnesota defensemen have totaled a franchise-record 173 points (36 goals, 137 assists) in 71 games this season. The Wild rank second behind Nashville for most points by blue-liners this season.Haula and Carpenter scored late in the third to make it a one-goal game, but Parise’s empty-netter sealed the win for the Wild.Minnesota is third in the Central Division behind Nashville and Winnipeg. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are eight points ahead of second-place San Jose in the Pacific Division.”I don’t care who we’re playing, it’s time to get back to winning,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. ”We’ve had a great home record all year long. We’ve got to make sure we’re the hardest-working team on Sunday and find a way to win.”NOTES: Vegas goalie Malcolm Subban, who is 11-3-1 with a 2.59 goals-against average, was activated from injured reserve and could see his first action since Feb. 2 on Sunday vs. Calgary. … Dumba and Vegas’ Pierre-Edouard Bellemare both played in their 299th career game. … Gallant remains three wins shy of 200 career victories. … Fleury still needs one win to move into a tie for 12th on the career list for goaltenders at 401.UP NEXTWild: Visit the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.Golden Knights: Host the Calgary Flames on Sunday.— SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Alex Galchenyuk finally broke out of a prolonged slump, and the Arizona Coyotes are suddenly making strides.Galchenyuk scored two goals in regulation plus the only one in a shootout as Arizona defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-3 on Sunday.Acquired in a June trade with Montreal for Max Domi, Galchenyuk hadn’t scored in 16 games and had just three goals all season going into the game.But the 24-year-old center, drafted third overall in 2012, got his first goal since Nov. 11 when he flicked a backhand past Sharks goalie Aaron Dell on a breakaway at 15:31 of the first period. Galchenyuk then scored on a 5-on-3 power play to snap a 1-all tie at 12:21 of the second.“It was frustrating without scoring for such a long period of time, trying to find my game,” Galchenyuk said. “I knew sooner or later it was going to come. Stick to it Victor Hedman Jersey , keep working.”Galchenyuk also scored on Arizona’s first chance in the shootout.“The second I touched the puck I knew what I was going to do,” he said. “I’m happy.”Conor Garland also scored to help the Coyotes win their second consecutive game after losing three straight and seven of eight. Darcy Kuemper made 35 saves for Arizona.Tomas Hertl scored twice and Tim Heed had a goal for San Jose, which lost its third straight after winning a season-high five in a row.Kuemper turned back shootout attempts by Joe Thornton, Hertl and Logan Couture.“They’re a great team,” Kuemper said. “They had a big push in their own building. I don’t know if we really held them at bay. They tied it up, but we were able to kind of hit the brakes after that happened and keep ourselves in it and then get a big shootout win.”Hertl recovered the puck behind the net and scored on a wraparound to tie it 3-all at 13:53 of the third. Hertl also scored early in the third to even the game at 2 before Garland gave the Coyotes a 3-2 advantage at 6:06.Heed scored on the power play in the first period, his first goal of the season in his third game for San Jose.Dell turned back 23 shots.“We found a way to get a point,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. “Disappointed we didn’t get two. I feel like the break’s coming at the right time. I think it’s been a tough month for us, (with the) travel. I feel like our team’s running on fumes a little bit. The tank’s a little empty and we’ve had to dig deep the last two nights to scratch out a couple of points.”NOTES: Sharks D Erik Karlsson was handed a two-game suspension by the NHL for an illegal check to the head of Los Angeles Kings forward Austin Wagner on Saturday. Heed took Karlsson’s spot in the lineup. … Thornton got his 1,041st assist on Heed’s goal, passing Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne for 10th place on the NHL’s career list.UP NEXTCoyotes: At the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.Sharks: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.