The Minnesota Wild put on a pleasing performance for their new owner on by scoring a 6-5 shootout win over the league-leading Detroit Red Wings.

Former Nashville Predators owner Craig Leopold bought a majority share in the Wild, though the sale still has to be ratified by the NHL and receive regulatory approval.

"I love the sport of hockey and am very excited to continue the tradition of Wild hockey here in Minnesota - the State of Hockey," Leopold said.

With the score tied at 4-4 late in the third period, Detroit looked to have snatched the win when Daniel Cleary scored with just over a minute left in regulation.

However, the Wild forced overtime when Eric Belanger made it 5-5 with 49 seconds left on the clock.

After a scoreless overtime, Marian Gaborik scored the deciding goal in the shootout. He had a goal and two assists in regulation.

"They came out and they were determined," Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall said.

"They didn't give up a lot of pucks at the beginning and they played with a lot of energy. It made it tough for us.

"At the same time, we weren't skating as usual so everything kind of goes hand-in-hand."

The Wild had lost twice to the Red Wings this season by a combined 9-1 score. The Red Wings had won four in a row and were on a 20-3-2 streak before the loss to the Wild.

Detroit goalie Chris Osgood, who was named to the All-Star team and signed a three-year contract extension on Wednesday, had his worst game of the season.

Coming into the game with a 1.70 goals against average and .932 save percentage, Osgood gave up five goals on 28 shots.

"We didn't have our 'A' game and we were sluggish," said Osgood.

The Red Wings now visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday in a battle of the two top teams in the league.

Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom fared little better and was lifted after allowing four goals on 19 shots. Backup Josh

Harding made several great saves to keep his team in the game.

The New Jersey Devils scored a 4-1 road victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Scott Hartnell delivered a hat-trick as the Philadelphia Flyers spotted the slumping New York Rangers a 2-0 lead before roaring back for a 6-2 road win.

The visiting Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 5-2.

The visiting Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1.

Reuters