Associated Press
MONTREAL (AP) — Everything is going in the net for Jason Zucker lately.
Zucker
scored three goals in the third period and Devan Dubnyk made 41 saves
for a shutout as the Minnesota Wild beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 to
end their three-game losing streak Thursday night.
It was the
second multi-goal game in two nights for Zucker, who scored twice in a
4-2 loss at Toronto on Wednesday. This time, he had one short-handed,
one at even strength and one into an empty net.
“I’ll take them
any way I can get them,” Zucker said. “I guarantee I’ve never done that
(score five times in two games). It’s nice to get that, but we’ve got to
regroup and get ready for our next game in Philly.”
Dubnyk, who
has struggled early on, posted his first shutout this season and the
25th of his career. He is 7-1-1 against Montreal.
Third-string
Montreal goalie Charlie Lindgren made 32 saves but lost for the first
time in six NHL starts. Lindgren, from Lakeville, Minnesota, started his
third straight game in place of injured Carey Price.
“I knew he was doing extremely well,” Dubnyk said about Lindgren. “Good for him.
“I
know him a little bit from Minnesota and he’s a nice kid. It’s always
fun to see a guy playing well like that and he certainly did that
tonight.”
The Canadiens controlled the puck most of the game but had two goals wiped out after video review.
Tyler
Ennis hit a post behind Lindgren on a breakaway and, when the puck went
down to the other end, Karl Alzner tipped Alex Galchenyuk’s pass out of
the air and into the Minnesota net 6:21 into the game. But it was waved
off by the officials and called no goal after replay review even though
Alzner’s stick appeared to be quite clearly below the height of the
crossbar.
Officials ruled goaltender interference when Charles
Hudon scored from the crease with five minutes left in the third period.
While there was some contact, it appeared to be Wild defenseman Matt
Dumba who pushed Dubnyk aside in the crease.
“If (Hudon) hadn’t
backed into me I’d have been at the top of the crease and been able to
spread my pads,” Dubnyk said. “It was the right call.”
Of course, Canadiens coach Claude Julien thought the goal should have counted.
“There
was a loose puck and their player pushed the goaltender into the net,”
Julien said. “It’s frustrating. Every time there’s a 50-50 play like
that, you never know how it will go.”
The deadlock was broken
2:46 into the third with the Wild down a man when Zucker scooped up a
loose puck in the neutral zone and went in alone to score on a deke to
his backhand.
Zucker was positioned in front of the net to
deflect Nino Niederreiter’s shot past Lindgren at 11:23. Zucker
completed the hat trick on an empty-netter with 35 seconds remaining.
“We
could have defended better on the goals we gave up, but despite
everything that happened, I don’t think we played a bad game,” Julien
said.
It was the Wild’s second win in their last six games, both against Montreal. They beat the Canadiens 6-3 at home last week.
Montreal has lost only twice in its last seven games, both times to Minnesota.
NOTES:
The Canadiens got bad news just before the game that top defenseman
Shea Weber (lower body) and center Jonathan Drouin (hand) would not
dress. With Price already out due to a lower-body injury, the Canadiens
were without arguably their three best players. ... Minnesota played
without forwards Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle. ... Julien, in his
second stint with Montreal, coached his 200th game for the team. He has
coached 1,038 NHL games in all.
UP NEXT
Wild: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.
Canadiens: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.
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