Joe McDonald, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Rapid Reaction: Wild 4, Bruins 3

BOSTON -- The Minnesota Wild scored three unanswered goals in the third period en route to a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins Tuesday night at TD Garden.

Ironically, the Wild had surrendered a three-goal lead in the third period Monday and lost, 5-4, to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

On Tuesday, the Wild pummeled Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask with 42 shots, as Minnesota capitalized on defensive breakdowns by Boston.

The Bruins received a pair of goals from rookie Seth Griffith and a power-play goal by Milan Lucic. Griffith finished with three points.

The Wild gained a quick 1-0 lead when Nino Niederreiter scored at 4:51 of the first period. Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski turned the puck over behind Rask, and the Wild's Thomas Vanek quickly gained control and moved the puck to Niederreiter out front for the tally.

It wasn't a great period for the Bruins, but they were able to tie the game late in the first. David Krejci controlled the puck along the left wall and produced a nifty tape-to-tape saucer pass from the faceoff circle to Griffith, who redirected it past Niklas Backstrom to tie the game at 1-1 at 18:23.

Griffith scored his second goal of the game, giving Boston a 2-1 lead, at 5:23 of the second period. Lucic made a nice play at the blue line to get the puck to Gregory Campbell, who showed patience and waited for a sprawling defender to take himself out of the play. Campbell then fed a streaking Griffith, who slammed home the goal and then tumbled through the air before crashing into the end wall.

Boston gained a two-goal lead with a power-play strike at 16:59 of the second. The Bruins used clean, crisp passes before Lucic redirected a pass past Backstrom for a 3-1 advantage.

The Bruins' lead didn't last.

Minnesota scored a pair of goals early in the third period to tie the game at 3-3. The Wild capitalized on a defensive breakdown when Minnesota's Zach Parise scored at 4:21. The Wild knotted the game at 6:34 when the Bruins couldn't clear the puck as a scramble ensued in front of Rask before Minnesota's Justin Fontaine scored to even things up.

The Wild gained a 4-3 lead when Marco Scandella's shot from the left point found its way through traffic and beat Rask to the top right corner at 14:07 of the third.

STREAKING: With his assist on Griffith's first goal of the game, Krejci extended his point streak to seven games. He has three goals and six assists for nine points during this stretch.

SAVE OF THE GAME: With the Bruins holding a 2-1 lead early in the second period, the Wild was a 2-on-1 when Minnesota's Jason Zucker took a slap shot from the left faceoff circle. Rask flashed a left-pad save and kicked the rebound to the side wall at 7:36 of the period.

INJURED: Referee Dave Lewis was hit in the face by a puck during the first period. He exited the ice and did not return. The rest of the game was officiated by one referee and two linesmen.

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