ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild found out during the second intermission their spot in the playoffs was secure. Satisfaction came only after they won their way in with a strong finish. Mikko Koivu had the only score in the shootout after Ryan Suters goal tied the game with 65 seconds remaining in regulation, and the Wild beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Tuesday night to clinch a wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoffs. "We wanted to get in the right way," said right wing Jason Pominville, who had two goals and an assist. "We stuck to it and found a way to score one late, and I think its a sign of a good team when you get in the right way against the best team in the NHL right now." Koivu, who had two assists, switched to his backhand to flip the puck past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask in the second round. When goalie Ilya Bryzgalov stopped Brad Marchands try with his pad to end it, he pumped his arms as he skated out of the crease to celebrate with his teammates. The Wild will be the seventh seed and face the division winner with the fewest points. "The message was, Lets not wait for anything. Lets not back our way into anything. Lets not come through the back door. Lets go charging through the front door," coach Mike Yeo said. "And what a better way to do it against a team like Boston." As play was about to begin for the third period, the overtime loss by ninth-place Phoenix at Columbus that guaranteed a place in the post-season for Minnesota was announced to the crowd and received with a hearty cheer. The Wild then went a step further by assuring themselves of the top wild-card slot by rallying for the win. They kept up the pressure in overtime after Suters delivery, outshooting the Bruins 6-2 in overtime. Reilly Smith, Patrice Bergeron and Loui Eriksson scored for the Bruins, who fell to 16-1-3 in their past 20 games. The Bruins, who clinched the No. 1 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs, held leading scorer Jarome Iginla out for the third time in the past four games because of a lower-body injury. Iginla became the biggest threat to the Wild during his days with then-division rival Calgary. His 67 points, including 37 goals, in 71 career games are the most by any Minnesota opponent. "Try to get some rest for certain guys and still try to play good hockey," Rask said. "Theres still something to play for. But its not always easy to find that 100 per cent perfect game in these situations." Late in the second period, Zdeno Chara wound up from the point on a power play. Eriksson and Gregory Campbell were parked just outside the crease, and the puck appeared to deflect first off Campbells stick before Eriksson poked it in for the lead with 3:42 left before the break. That didnt mean they were playing their best, though. "I felt we were a little sloppy tonight. We werent very sharp in our passing and our playmaking," coach Claude Julien said. "We didnt have everybody really playing that well. Some of our big players were just very average." Bryzgalov, the latest unlikely leader to emerge for the Wild, made 44 saves over the past two games to blank Pittsburgh and Winnipeg and put Minnesota on the brink of the post-season. His shutout streak ended at 145 minutes and 15 seconds, when Smith sent in an unassisted power-play goal for his 20th score this season. But Bryzgalov, who took over for Darcy Kuemper when the rookie suffered an upper-body injury last month, improved to 7-0-3 since arriving at the trade deadline. "The quicker you can clinch, the better it is," an impressed Julien said. Last season, the Wild limped to the No. 8 seed by winning their final game to finish 5-8-1 in April. This time, theyll have more momentum. "We played ourselves into the playoffs the way that you want to. It says a lot about the guys in here, and hopefully we can keep this thing going here," Suter said. NOTES: Wild goalie Josh Harding, the winner of the NHLs Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy last year for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the sport, was announced Tuesday as the teams repeat nominee for the award. Harding has been on injured reserve since Jan. 2, continuing to deal with multiple sclerosis, but returned to practice with the Wild last Wednesday. ... Bergeron has 10 goals in his past 11 games. Khyri Thomas Pistons Jersey . - The Minnesota Vikings have ruled Christian Ponder out for Sundays game at Baltimore, because the quarterback has not yet passed all of his post-concussion tests. Stanley Johnson Jersey . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. https://www.pistonsrookiesshop.com/Henry...Edition-Jersey/. The 18-year-old Januzaj has made his breakthrough at United this season, including scoring twice in a 2-1 win over Sunderland before the recent international break. His performances have sparked a debate about where his international future lies. Thon Maker Jersey . "Hopefully well get all this out of the way," he said, "and everyone will be healthy the rest of the year." Zimmerman was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday and is expected to miss between four to six weeks. Markieff Morris Pistons Jersey . - After spending the morning in the hospital, Logan Couture gave the San Jose Sharks the spark they needed.Melbourne, Australia - Staring match point in the face, Maria Sharapova let loose a thunderous forehand and showed challenger Alexandra Panova why shes ranked No. 2 in the world. Sharapova trailed 1-4 in the third set, staved off a pair of match points and survived for one of her most memorable comeback victories in an improbably entertaining second-round match at the Australian Open on Wednesday. The match lasted 2 1/2 hours, the third set alone taking 68 minutes despite Panova jumping out to a commanding lead with a pair of breaks of Sharapovas serve. Sharapova earned one back but trailed 4-5 and faced two match points. On the first, the five-time Grand Slam winner unleashed a powerful winning forehand on a second serve that hugged the line. The second was a longer point also won by Sharapova with a forehand, and from there Panova wilted. The French Open champ Sharapova won the game, held at love and quickly earned two match points of her own. She only needed one, as Panova was long at the end of a lengthy rally to secure Sharapovas 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 victory. I think I was dwelling too much on my mistakes and what I was doing wrong, and not really being in the present, something that Im usually really good at, said Sharapova. At that point when youre behind, you feel like youre making a lot of errors and dont have a good rhythm out there, but I really just kept trying to take it one point at a time, think positively, and change my thought process a little bit out there. When other things arent working, maybe the mental side of things will help you out. The 25-year-old Panova entered the seasons first major as a qualifier and came in ranked 150th in the world. She lost all five of her previous Grand Slam matches before cruising past Sorana Cirstea on Monday. Sharapova, who committed 51 unforced errors and six double faults, won this major tournament in 2008 and was twice a runner-up. The former world No. 1 exited in the fourth round last year. Her next opponent will be 31st-seeded Kazakhstani Zarina Diyas, who overcame Anna Schmiedlova 3-6, 6-2, 8-6 at Melbourne Park. Meanwhile, third-seeded French Open runner-up Simona Halep whipped Aussie Jarmila Gajdosova 6-2, 6-2 and seeventh-seeded Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard blitzed Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens 6-0, 6-3.dddddddddddd Up next for Halep will be American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, while Bouchard will face Frances Caroline Garcia. Tenth-seeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova mauled Italian veteran Roberta Vinci 6-2, 6-4, while 14th-seeded former French Open runner-up Sara Errani of Italy got past Spaniard Silvia Soler-Espinosa 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. In other action involving seeds, No. 21 Peng Shuai pasted Slovak Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1 and No. 22 Czech and last weeks Sydney runner-up Karolina Pliskova held off Frances Oceane Dodin 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Also on Day 3, Mattek-Sands edged out Kristina Mladenovic 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6); Garcia beat Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-4; Czech Lucie Hradecka beat Polona Hercog 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; German Julia Goerges outlasted Klara Koukalova 6-3, 4-6, 6-2; Belgian Yanina Wickmayer snuck past Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; German Carina Witthoeft drilled American Christina McHale 6-3, 6-0; Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu topped Katerina Siniakova 7-5, 6-4; and Kazakhstans Yaroslava Shvedova downed Puerto Rican Monica Puig 6-2, 7-6 (8-6). On some more second-round action on Thursday, world No. 1 Serena Williams will face Vera Zvonareva in a rematch of the 2010 Wimbledon final, which was won by Williams, fourth-seeded reigning Wimbledon champ and last weeks Sydney titlist Petra Kvitova will take on German Mona Barthel, and eighth-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki will battle fellow former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. The unseeded two-time Aussie champ from Belarus Azarenka titled back-to-back here in 2012 and 2013 before being slowed by a foot injury last year. She will meet Wozniacki for an eighth time on Thursday, with the Dane leading the Belarusian in their lifetime series, 4-3. Wozniacki got the better of Azarenka in the third round at the 2008 U.S. Open in their lone Grand Slam matchup. Also slated for action on Day 4 are sixth-seeded former Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska, 11th-seeded 2014 Aussie runner-up Dominika Cibulkova and 18th-seeded former No. 1 and 2003 Aussie finalist Venus Williams, who will take on fellow American Lauren Davis. ' ' '