“We have a group of guys in there that are not going to quit, they’re not going to give up and look for excuses,’’ rookie coach Mike Yeo said. “One thing we can really credit our success with is that we try not to get wrapped up in the score. We just know that it’s about the next shift, going out and playing our game. All it takes is one play to get us right back in there.’’
Josh Harding, who took over in net for an injured Niklas Backstrom after the first period of Minnesota’s 4-2 win over New Jersey on Friday night and stopped all 22 shots he faced, made 24 saves against the Ducks in his first start since Nov. 25 while rookie Matt Hackett served as his backup.
Dany Heatley scored a power-play goal and Kyle Clutterbuck added a short-handed empty-netter with 10.2 seconds left for Minnesota in the opener of a five-game trip. Matt Cullen had three assists for Minnesota against his former club.
The victory put the Wild atop the overall NHL standings with 37 points. They are off to their best start in the franchise’s 11-year history at 17-7-3, and have won four straight and nine of 11 — a stretch that began with a 3-2 win over the Ducks on Nov. 13 at Anaheim.
“It’s easy to say it, but we’re kind of walking the walk a little bit,’’ Cullen said. “You preach: `Stay with it, stay confident, stay with the game plan and it’s going to come.’ We’re finding a way to stick with it, stay positive on the bench and play our game. That’s a huge key for us.’’
Anaheim is 0-2 since recently deposed Washington coach Bruce Boudreau replaced Randy Carlyle behind the bench. The Ducks, who have won just three of their last 21 games, squandered a 2-0 lead just two nights after blowing a 3-0 advantage in Boudreau’s debut — a 4-3 overtime loss to Philadelphia.
