By DAVE CAMPBELL
Associated Press
ST.
PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Wild have been beset by a bunch of
injuries during a sluggish start, including long-term absences for two
top forwards.
Matt Cullen led the wakeup call less than five
minutes into Thursday night’s game, taking advantage of a Montreal
Canadiens team having a lot more trouble early this season.
Cullen
scored his first goal of the season on his 41st birthday and added an
assist during a three-goal first period, giving the Wild a welcome spark
on the way to a 6-3 victory over the Canadiens.
“Something we talked a lot about was, we need to come out with life and energy,” Cullen said, “and tonight was a lot better.”
Nino
Niederreiter and Tyler Ennis also scored to send struggling Canadiens
goalie Carey Price into the first intermission with a 3-0 deficit. Ryan
Suter chipped in a second-period goal , and Jared Spurgeon scored on a
power play for more insurance in the first minute of the third.
“Our first two periods were as good a two periods as we’ve played all year,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said.
Mikko
Koivu and Mikael Granlund each had two assists and Marcus Foligno added
an empty-net goal for the Wild, who have won six straight games against
the Canadiens while outscoring them 25-9.
Price, who stopped 21
shots by the Wild, gave up a staggering seven goals in the team’s last
trip to Minnesota on Jan. 12 . Once again, he was taunted by the crowd
with the “Sieve! Sieve! Sieve!” chant once the score grew.
“We
all know that Carey is a much better goaltender than he’s showing right
now,” Canadiens coach Claude Julien said. “The only thing he can do, and
we can do, is keep working with him, and him working hard and finding
his groove again because he’s definitely the key to us getting back into
the race.”
Brendan Gallagher scored twice and Andrew Shaw had
one of two third-period goals for the Canadiens, who totaled 13 goals
over their previous two games but still entered the night with the
fourth-fewest goals per game (2.5) in the NHL.
“We’re just
inconsistent, and that’s the worst thing you want from a team because it
gives you hope,” Gallagher said. “Obviously we still believe in each
other. We know what we’re capable of doing. We just have too many
letdowns, and that’s about being mentally tough.”
Defense has
been a problem for the Canadiens, too, with the third-most goals allowed
per game (3.75) in the league coming into this game. That’s despite the
presence of Price, the five-time All-Star who was the Hart Trophy
winner just three seasons ago as MVP of the NHL.
“Just stick with
it. Just try and find a way to get through it,” said Price, who has
allowed four goals or more in four of his last five starts.
Devan Dubnyk made 27 saves for the Wild, winning his third straight start.
Cullen,
the second-oldest player in the league behind Jaromir Jagr of the
Calgary Flames, snagged a long rebound off Price’s pads and sent it into
the net as Price was falling to his right. That put the Wild on the
board just 4:46 into the game.
Matt Dumba, who had two assists,
set up Niederreiter’s tip 10 seconds after Cullen scored with a slap
shot off a clearing attempt by Price went astray. Price jammed the butt
of his stick into his glove several times in frustration after falling
behind 2-0. Cullen then led a slick 2-on-1 to beat defenseman Jeff Petry
and tee up Ennis for the tap-in.
Dumba responded deftly to a
rough game Tuesday night, when his careless drop pass was intercepted by
Winnipeg’s Nikolaj Ehlers for an easy goal in a 2-1 win by the Jets.
Dumba was benched by Boudreau after the turnover and criticized by the
boss afterward, but Boudreau called this performance Dumba’s best of the
season.
“We can’t go anywhere without him being really good.
He’s one of our top-four defensemen, and we need our top-four defensemen
to perform every night,” Boudreau said.
NOTES: Cullen has three
goals and four assists in eight career games on his birthday. He played
in his 1,500th game, including playoffs, which ranks 46th all-time and
sixth among active players. ... Spurgeon snapped an 0-for-19 skid on the
power play for the Wild. ... Gallagher has five goals in the last six
games. ... Shaw scored for the first time this season.
UP NEXT
Canadiens: Make the third stop on a four-game road trip Saturday night to play the Winnipeg Jets.
Wild: Host the Chicago Blackhawks Saturday night to wrap up a six-game homestand.
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