wild/nhl

 
        === Setoguchi stands tall, helps Wild down Blackhawks in SO ===
 
 Chicago,  IL (Sports Network)  - Devin Setoguchi had a goal and two assists in
 regulation  and then  scored  the game  winner  in the  shootout  to lift  the
 Minnesota Wild over the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-4, at United Center.
 
 Dany  Heatley  added a  goal  and  an assist  while  Clayton  Stoner and  Kyle
 Brodziak also lit the lamp for the Wild, who earned their first three-game win
 streak since a since a seven-game run from November 28-December 10.
 
 Josh Harding stopped 31 shots in the victory.
 
 "It's  big for our  club to finish strong and make sure we do things the right
 way instead of taking an early vacation here," said Setoguchi, whose team sits
 in 12th place in the Western Conference with 78 points.
 
 Patrick  Kane  scored twice, Patrick  Sharp and  Viktor Stalberg netted a goal
 apiece  and Ray  Emery made 26 saves  for Chicago, which is now tied with idle
 Nashville for the fifth seed in the Western Conference with 98 points.
 
 Both clubs sit a point back of Detroit for the fourth spot.
 
 "We  want to continue to roll, continue to gain momentum and try and be in the
 right  frame of  mind for  the  first game  of  the playoffs,  whoever we  are
 playing," Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook said.
 
 To  finish off  the third round, Setoguchi  cruised down the center of the ice
 and  sent a wrister from the slot that snuck through the pads of Emery for the
 game-deciding goal.
 
 The  Wild opened  the scoring  at the  10:11 mark  of the  first period  after
 Setoguchi  split the  Blackhawks defense  and  received a  home-run pass  from
 Heatley  for a  breakaway. His initial shot  was stopped by the pads of Emery,
 but he kept jamming at it and was able to stuff it home.
 
 Chicago  responded just 34 seconds later. Nick Leddy raced down the right side
 of  the  offensive zone before  backhanding a pass  into the slot, where Sharp
 kicked the puck to his stick and lifted a wrister into the top-right corner.
 
 Minnesota  regained its lead  with 6:06 left in the opening frame while on the
 power play when Heatley finished off a tic-tac-toe play in front with a tap-in
 past Emery. Heatley and Setoguchi netted helpers on the score.
 
 The  Blackhawks answered  again  5:28  into the  second  period when  Stalberg
 grabbed  a  pass in the left  circle, cut towards  the net and finished with a
 backhander past Harding's stick side.
 
 But  Minnesota  recorded a pair of  tallies on rebounds by Stoner and Brodziak
 within a 41-second span to put the Wild back on top with a 4-2 advantage.
 
 Chicago  closed the gap to one at the 8:20 mark of the middle stanza on Kane's
 hard  wrister from  the right  circle through  the short  side, and  after the
 Wild's  Mikko Koivu  was whistled  for tripping  with 3:01  left in  the third
 period,  Kane  was left wide open  in front of  the net and ripped a one-timer
 into the twine 16 seconds later to make it a 4-4 game.
 
 Minnesota  was awarded  a power  play a  minute later  when Marcus  Kruger was
 called for a hooking penalty, but did not convert, forcing overtime.
 
 Neither  team could  push through  in overtime  as Emery  made four  saves and
 Harding stopped the lone shot he faced.
 
                                   Game Notes
 
 Stoner's  goal was his first of the season...The game was Chicago's final home
 contest  of the regular season...The 'Hawks finished with a 27-8-6 mark as the
 host...The  game  saw a total of  16 penalties for a combined 58 minutes...The
 Wild  went  1-for-3 on the power  play, while the Blackhawks were 1-for-4 with
 the man advantage.
 
 04/02 00:23:27 ET