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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The Minnesota Wild took full advantage of
their limited opportunities.
The Wild beat Calgary 3-1 on Friday night, despite getting only
13 shots on goal and just six in the final two periods.
|  | | Aaron Gavey one-timed Wes Walz's pass past Fred Brathwaite to give the Wild a 3-1 lead. |
"We only got 13 shots tonight, but if the fans want, we could
probably get 25 a night," Minnesota's Wes Walz said. "We'd
probably lose 7-2 and I don't think the fans want that."
Darby Hendrickson and Filip Kuba scored in the first period for
the Wild, and Aaron Gavey added a goal in the third. Manny
Fernandez, making his first start after missing six games because
of an ankle injury, made 30 saves.
"Everyone's got a lot of confidence in his skills," Wild coach
Jacques Lemaire said. "Manny Fernandez kept us in the game."
Fernandez said he was pain free, but more exhausted then usual
after the game. "That was the main area that I was worried about _
my conditioning," he said.
It was the expansion Wild's second win, and both victories have
come at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild are 1-1-2 in their last four
games, and 2-6-3 overall.
Calgary is 3-7-1, tied for last place with the Wild in the
Northwest Division.
"We've got to get better individually," Flames captain Steve
Smith said. "If we don't, we're not going to pull ourselves out of
this. We've got to come better prepared."
Flames coach Don Hay felt frustrated that his team couldn't
convert its chances.
"Tonight when it was 2-1, we had a critical turnover that ends
up in our net to make it 3-1," Hay said. "I thought we could have
prevented all three of their goals if we were on top of our game."
Gavey scored with 7:45 left in the third period to give the Wild
a 3-1 lead. Antti Laaksonen stole the puck in Minnesota's zone and
set up Gavey's goal on a 2-on-1 break.
The Flames were sloppy in their own end throughout the game and
it was only the Wild's inability to convert opportunities that kept
the margin from being bigger than 2-0 after one period.
Calgary's Fred Brathwaite, who made 10 saves, was knocked down
twice by his own teammates in the first period and appeared to be
screened on Minnesota's second goal.
Calgary outshot Minnesota 11-2 in the second period. Valeri Bure
scored the Flames' only goal, on a power play. Twenty-one seconds
after the Wild killed a two-man disadvantage, Bure took a pass from
Marc Savard in the slot, skated into the left circle and lifted it
past Fernandez for his first goal of the season.
Game
notes
Calgary's Tommy Albelin left the game with what Flames
officials said was a possible concussion. He did not return.
Halfway through the second period, he lay motionless on the ice for
a minute following a check from Andy Sutton. The hit appeared to be
clean and no penalty was called. ... Fernandez moved past the
2,000-minute mark for his career at 10:00 of the third period. ...
This is the first of three meetings between the two Northwest
Division rivals in the next six days. After the Flames play the
Wild in Minnesota on Nov. 22, the teams don't meet again until
March 1. ... Minnesota's Marian Gaborik changed jersey numbers for
the second time this season. The rookie started with 10, switched
to 82 two weeks ago, then went back to 10 on Friday.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Calgary Clubhouse
Minnesota Clubhouse
RECAPS
Buffalo 2
Toronto 1
New Jersey 3
Carolina 3
Columbus 3
Washington 1
NY Islanders 2
Montreal 1
Ottawa 6
Tampa Bay 0
Minnesota 3
Calgary 1
Florida 3
Nashville 3
Pittsburgh 4
NY Rangers 1
Phoenix 4
Dallas 2
Atlanta 1
Vancouver 1
Anaheim 3
Edmonton 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Darby Hendrickson scores the wraparound goal.
avi: 713 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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