ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Wild has been on a roll lately.
Plugging a future Hall of Famer into its crease didn't stop that momentum.
After overcoming a second-period letdown in which it lost the lead, the Wild rallied to win, 3-2 in overtime, against the Blue Jackets on Saturday in front of 19,089 at Xcel Energy Center to push its win streak to five games.
Captain Jared Spurgeon capitalized 1 minute, 24 seconds into overtime after Kirill Kaprizov scored twice, including the equalizer late in the third period, to climb into second place in Wild history for points in a season at 80.
As for Fleury, he totaled 23 saves in his first game after the Wild acquired him from Chicago for a second-round draft pick that could turn into a first-rounder.
Fleury collected his 20th win of the season and became the fourth goalie in NHL history to record 14-career 20 win seasons, joining Patrick Roy (17), Martin Brodeur (16) and Ed Belfour (15), according to NHLStats.
With the win, the Wild stayed in second place in the Central Division and now has a three-point cushion over No. 3 St. Louis.
After receiving a loud ovation when he was introduced as part of the starting lineup, Fleury had an uneventful start despite the Wild going on the penalty kill less than a minute into the game.
Not until 4:45 elapsed did Fleury officially make his first stop, which elicited more cheers from the crowd.
Another roar happened when the Wild took advantage of its first power play at 7:26 after Kaprizov slung the puck from along the goal line past Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins for his second goal in as many games.
With the handoff to Kaprizov for the goal, Mats Zuccarello set a personal career high in assists at 45.
Zuccarello is also tied with Kaprizov for the most helpers on the team, and they're the second set of Wild teammates to record 45-plus assists in the same season; Mikael Granlund (46) and Ryan Suter (45) also accomplished the feat in 2017-18.
But like the last time the Wild faced the Blue Jackets, a 3-2 shootout loss on March 11, the team struggled to gain separation and that opened the door for a Columbus rally.
At 8:16 of the second, a bouncing puck eventually caromed in off of Fleury's right skate as he was sprawled on his side; the Blue Jackets' Jake Bean was credited with the goal.
With 1:05 to go in the period, Columbus snagged the lead on a shot by Jakub Voracek after Fleury caught a piece of a Patrik Laine deflection.
That finish put an exclamation point on a forgettable stretch for the Wild, with a parade to the penalty box contributing to a choppy and chippy tempo.
Ryan Hartman and Andrew Peeke had off-setting roughing minors, and Jordan Greenway was penalized for roughing for stepping in after Oliver Bjorkstrand boarded Marcus Foligno. Before that, Foligno had already briefly left the game twice following a collision with linemate Joel Eriksson Ek.
Kaprizov was also engaged, as he and Gabriel Carlsson were sent off for slashing penalties.
The Wild was much more authoritative in the third, dominating the Blue Jackets and peppering Merzlikins with shots; at one point, the Wild had an 11-1 edge in the period.
Finally, with 1:03 to go in the period and Fleury on the bench for an extra attacker, Kaprizov tallied his team-leading 35th goal when he snaked a shot through traffic by Merzlikins to send the game to overtime, where Spurgeon polished off the comeback with a backhand shot.
The Wild now has 18 goals at 6-on-5, a franchise record that leads the NHL.
Kaprizov passed Brian Rolston for second in points in a Wild season and is just three shy of equaling Marian Gaborik's record at 83. He's also only seven behind the goals record (42).
Merzlikins ended up with 35 saves after playing the previous night in a 4-3 overtime loss at Winnipeg.
