Wild get rare road win, top Blue Jackets 3-2 in shootout

By NICOLE KRAFT
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- It was a long night on the road for the Minnesota Wild.

This time, it was worth it.

Zach Parise and Chris Stewart scored in the shootout, and the Wild beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 on Tuesday.

Devan Dubnyk had 28 saves for Minnesota (27-18-5), which earned its 10th road win of the season. Jason Zucker scored his 20th goal, and Charlie Coyle added his fifth in the third period.

"It's been a tough go on the road," Dubnyk said. "We all felt it. We all talked about it. There is nothing we can say to make it go away. We just need to go play better.

"It was a good start for us tonight."

Columbus (27-19-4) lost for the fourth time in six games. Sergei Bobrovsky made 41 stops, Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist and David Savard scored his third of the season.

Savard got the lead for the Blue Jackets when he scored on a top-shelf shot from the blue line just 1:16 into the game, surprising Dubnyk. Dean Kukan got an assist on the play for his first NHL point.

Savard had a chance for another goal at 12:19, but it was waved off for a distinct kicking motion.

Minnesota got on the board with a power-play goal at 4:25 of the second. Zucker beat Bobrovsky in a battle for the puck in the crease, matching Eric Staal for the team lead in goals and extending his point streak to seven games.

"The first 10 minutes of the second period was a perfect road game," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Getting it deep, shooting at the net ... doing all the simple things."

The Wild jumped in front when Coyle scored right after his team killed off a Stewart slashing penalty, but the Blue Jackets responded.

With Zucker in the box for delay of game, Panarin scored his 13th of the season at 14:48 on a shot from the right circle.

Panarin also scored Columbus' only goal in the shootout, which went four rounds.

"We can't have so many ebbs and flows in the game," Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno said. "There are already enough to begin with. It can't come from us.

"Look at our effort in the first period, dominating. The second period hits, and our effort goes away. They come right way and start dictating."

NOTES: The Wild play three of their next four games on the road. ... Blue Jackets F Brandon Dubinsky returned after missing 18 games with an orbital fracture. He played almost 15 minutes and was a plus-one.

UP NEXT

Wild: Hosts Vegas on Friday.

Blue Jackets: Host San Jose on Friday.

Malkin, Crosby lead Penguins past Wild 6-3

By DAN SCIFO
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan can see confidence beginning to build for rookie forward Dominik Simon.

Playing alongside Sidney Crosby certainly helps.

Simon scored twice, Evgeni Malkin also scored two power-play goals and Crosby had three assists to reach another career milestone as the Penguins topped the Minnesota Wild 6-3 on Thursday night.

"I think when a player gets called up for the first time, there's a bit of a wow factor and after that experience is over, I think players tend to settle in," Sullivan said of Simon. "With each additional time players are called up, they get more comfortable with their surroundings and that's what we're seeing with Dominik."

Simon made his season debut Dec. 9 against Toronto and played in six games before he was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Simon was recalled on Jan. 1 and scored his second NHL goal Tuesday against Carolina. He doubled that total on Thursday.

"You can tell he's more confident using his shot," Crosby said. "He's finding the net, and when guys are doing that, you just tell them to keep shooting."

Crosby passed Jaromir Jagr for second on the team's career scoring list with 1,082 points and is now behind only current Penguins owner Mario Lemieux, who finished his career with 1,723 points. Malkin, who has 23 goals, added an assist to give him 16 goals and 31 points in his last 24 games.

Carl Hagelin had a goal and an assist and Brian Dumoulin scored once for Pittsburgh. Phil Kessel, the Penguins' leading scorer with 58 points, also had three assists for the Penguins, who won their fifth straight home game.

Pittsburgh has wins in seven of its last nine games overall.

"We've been playing the right way for a couple weeks and we've had great results," Crosby said. "Everybody's chipping in and that's a big part of it. It's a lot more fun to play and more pucks are going in the net."

Rookie Casey DeSmith, making his fourth straight start for Pittsburgh, stopped 23 shots. DeSmith had his bid for his first NHL shutout end when Eric Staal scored with 11:16 to play.

Staal scored his 20th of the season, Mikael Granlund added his 15th on the power play and Jonas Brodin had his fifth for the Wild, whose season-best six-game points streak ended.

Devan Dubnyk made 17 saves on 21 shots before he was pulled after Dumoulin's goal in the second period. Alex Stalock stopped 16 shots in relief.

"We got killed," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "I mean, we got outplayed in every facet of the game. When you score three goals late, it makes it look a little better, but they stopped playing a little bit and we got a couple breaks and scored goals. But when they turned it on, we had no answer for them."

Simon opened the scoring at 3:54 of the first period on a pass from Crosby, who extended his season-best assists and points streak to nine games - the NHL's longest active run. Crosby has three goals and 19 points during the streak. He is one goal shy of his 400th of his NHL career.

Malkin scored a power-play goal later in the period. His centering attempt from behind the net hit Wild D Ryan Suter and Dubnyk and crossed the line.

Pittsburgh extended the lead to 4-0 on second-period goals scored by Hagelin and Dumoulin.

Hagelin scored from the slot on Malkin's setup, and Dumoulin finished a tic-tac-toe passing sequence from Crosby and Hagelin 1:27 later.

Malkin scored his second power-play goal off Suter's skate at 1:42 of the third period and Simon scored his second of the game, making it 6-0, just 50 seconds later.

"I think he's getting more and more confident," Crosby said of Simon. "He's a smart player and he's shooting the puck well, especially the last couple games."

NOTES: Wild F Matt Cullen, who helped the Penguins win back-to-back Stanley Cups, returned to Pittsburgh for the first time since signing with Minnesota in the summer as a free agent. ... Penguins G Matt Murray was active for the first time since Jan. 7, serving as the backup to DeSmith. He returned home to Canada on Jan. 17 following the death of his father, James. ... Malkin appeared in his 753rd game, tying Jean Pronovost for fourth on the team's all-time list. ... Wild F Nino Niederreiter skated Wednesday and could return Feb. 2 against the Vegas Golden Knights. ... The Penguins re-assigned G Tristan Jarry to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. ... Pittsburgh scratched defensemen Chad Ruhwedel and Matt Hunwick along with F Ryan Reaves. Minnesota sat D Mike Reilly and F Chris Stewart.

UP NEXT

Wild: Visit Columbus on Tuesday.

Penguins: Continue a four-game homestand Tuesday against San Jose.

Canucks feeling better as they visit Wild

STATS, LLC

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Winning on the road isn't easy in the NHL, and for the Vancouver Canucks, success away from the Pacific Northwest has been elusive lately.

Although there's a newfound optimism among the Canucks as they head into Sunday evening's meeting with the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center, courtesy of some long-elusive luck they found in their last outing.

The Canucks are still well out of the playoff hunt, but are feeling better about themselves as they prep to hit the ice in Minnesota after snapping a five-game losing streak in their last outing. The long-dormant Canucks' offense broke out Friday in Columbus, turning good bounces into goals in a 5-2 victory over the Blue Jackets.

"It was nice to get some puck luck on our side," said Canucks coach Travis Green after his team scored more than two goals in a game for the first time in the past four. "Sometimes that's the way it goes."

For a team that is expected to be sellers with the trade deadline approaching, perhaps the best development in the win at Columbus was the two-assist night turned in by forward Thomas Vanek. With his offensive numbers climbing, the speculation has begun that Vanek will be a valued asset in the coming months, with teams looking to add goal scorers for the playoff push.

One team certain to be uninterested in taking on Vanek's salary at the trade deadline is Minnesota, where Vanek played for two high-priced and underachieving seasons before the Wild bought out the final year of his contract in the summer of 2016.

While the Wild aren't scoring goals at an overly impressive clip lately, they have won two in a row, beating Chicago on the road Wednesday and Winnipeg at home Saturday.

They pounced on a tired Jets team in their last outing, and playing on back-to-back days, the Wild players know they have to guard against the same problem with the Canucks slightly more rested.

"You can't be pretty (Sunday). It's got to be back to work, back to grinding them down, especially against a team like Vancouver that has some nifty players," Wild forward Marcus Foligno said. "They just beat Columbus too so they're feeling good about themselves. We have to make sure we close it out going into the break."

The Wild are close to full health, but have been playing without forward Nino Niederreiter, who has a lower-body ailment. They have a five-day break coming after the Vancouver game, but are trying to guard against looking ahead to the forthcoming rest and relaxation.

"I think we're still hungry. This is a big one," said Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, who had his second multi-goal game of the season versus Winnipeg. "We're going to treat it like a huge game (Sunday) going into our break. We'll be satisfied if we get the win."

It will be the second of three meetings this season. Vancover blanked Minnesota 1-0 in St. Paul on Oct. 24.

Dumba scores twice, Wild beat Jets 4-1

By TYLER MASON
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – The Central Division has been the NHL's tightest this season, with not much separation from top to bottom.

Minnesota's win over division-leading Winnipeg on Saturday night only jammed it up some more.

Matt Dumba had two goals, Jason Zucker and Mikael Granlund also scored and the Wild beat the Jets 4-1.

Dumba got his goals in the third period, helping Minnesota win its second straight behind 32 saves from Devan Dubnyk.

Minnesota got its first win against Winnipeg in four tries this season. The Wild are 5-0-1 in their last six home games.

Minnesota gets a quick turnaround for a game Sunday against the Vancouver Canucks.

"I think we're still hungry. This is a big one," Dumba said. "We're going to treat it like a huge game tomorrow going into our break."

The loss is the second in two nights for the Jets after a 2-1 defeat to Chicago. Mathieu Perreault had Winnipeg's goal Saturday, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 37 shots.

As it did against the Blackhawks, Winnipeg got off to a slow start versus Minnesota. The Jets were outshot 23-5 in the first period.

"In a game like that, we need to make simpler plays, sort of keep it as simple as possible and try to just get into that grinding game as soon as we can," defenseman Josh Morrissey said. "I think it took us too long to do that today."

Granlund opened the scoring with a redirect in front. The forward deflected a shot from defenseman Ryan Suter at the 8:47 mark of the first period. It was Granlund's 13th goal of the season and his 10th point in his last eight games. The goal came on the power play after Morrissey was whistled for interference.

Zucker put his team up 2-0 early in the second. Not long after getting denied by Hellebuyck on a breakaway, Zucker buried a rebound from off the end boards. Zucker's 16th goal was his first since Dec. 27 - a span of seven games. Granlund picked up an assist on Zucker's goal.

The Jets took advantage of a power play to get on the board early in the third. Perreault tipped in a pass from Blake Wheeler on the doorstep just 47 seconds into the period. Winnipeg started the third with the man-advantage after a penalty late in the second period.

Winnipeg outshot Minnesota 17-9 in the second period.

Dumba's slap shot from the faceoff circle sneaked between Hellebuyck and the post for a 3-1 lead in the third. Another shot from the point made it 4-1 later in the third for Dumba's second two-goal game of the season.

The Wild continued their dominance at home. Minnesota is now 12-1-2 in its last 15 games and 15-4-3 overall at Xcel Energy Center.

After Sunday's game, Minnesota will be off for five days before returning to action next Saturday against Tampa Bay.

"We knew it was going to be a big week for us," Granlund said. "We're going to be on a bye week next week, so we gotta gather as many points as we can."

Winnipeg, meanwhile, has a week off. With several injuries, the break comes at a good time for the Jets.

"We've got some key pieces in terms of our structure and how we run our bench that we've missed," coach Paul Maurice said. "We've done actually a great job of surviving and getting wins without them but we'll hopefully get a few of those guys back."

NOTES: The Wild will open select gates early before Sunday's game to allow fans to watch the Minnesota Vikings playoff game against the New Orleans Saints on TVs in the arena. Fans can enter at 3:30 p.m. CT, with the Vikings game beginning at 3:40 p.m.

UP NEXT

Jets: At Calgary on Saturday.

Wild: Host Vancouver on Sunday.

---

More AP hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Ryan Suter, Devan Dubnyk lead Wild past Blackhawks, 2-1

By MATT CARLSON
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) -- The Minnesota Wild overcame a shaky start for a timely victory against a division rival.

Ryan Suter gave Minnesota the lead on a 4-on-4 early in the third period, Devan Dubnyk made 34 saves and the Wild held off the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 on Wednesday night to end a two-game slide.

Jonas Brodin scored in the second period for Minnesota (23-17-4). The Wild pulled two points ahead of Chicago (21-16-6) in the tight Central Division and tussle for playoff spots in the Western Conference.

The Wild were outshot 14-5 in the first period - and lucky to trail just 1-0.

"The first period was terrible," Suter said. "We weren't skating, no energy, turning a lot of pucks over, and they were playing in our end."

Following the opening frame, coach Bruce Boudreau told his players to get a grip on the game, and they responded.

"You saw the first period," Boudreau said. "(The Blackhawks) probably had the puck 15 minutes in our zone, it was embarrassing. Being within one goal is amazing."

"To (the Wild's) credit, I thought in the second and third period, they really buckled down and played really hard."

Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook, a healthy scratch in Chicago's 8-2 victory in Ottawa on Tuesday night, was back in the lineup and celebrated with his first goal since opening night.

But that's all the Blackhawks could muster.

"We had some OK zone time, but we really weren't connecting on passes," said Patrick Kane, who was held off the scoresheet after posting a career-high five points at Ottawa. "(The Wild) did a good job intercepting plays we were looking for, so it a little bit of different club were going up against.

"A bit frustrating when you get something going. You want to build off that and we didn't do it."

The Blackhawks were 0-for-3 on the power play - including wasting a chance late in the third period - after going 4-for-6 with the advantage against the Senators.

Chicago's Anton Forsberg made 25 saves in his third straight start. Corey Crawford, the Blackhawks No. 1 goalie, missed his seventh game with an upper-body injury and hasn't resumed skating. There's no timetable for his return.

Blackhawks defenseman Jan Rutta left early in the third, then returned late in the period, after taking an illegal hit to the head from Minnesota's Marcus Foligno.

Both teams played their second games in two nights. Minnesota lost 3-2 in overtime at home to Calgary on Tuesday night.

The Blackhawks acquired winger Anthony Duclair and defenseman Adam Clendening from Arizona before the game in a trade for right wing Richard Panik and minor league forward Laurent Dauphin.

Getting the speedy 22-year-old Duclair is another step for Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman as he tries to shake up and add quickness to a perennial contender that's looked sluggish at times this season while fighting to maintain a playoff position.

The talented but inconsistent Duclair has nine goals and six assists in 33 games this season, scoring in each of his last two games after reports surfaced that he had asked for a trade.

NOTES: Entering Wednesday, the 32-year-old Seabrook had just one goal and 10 assists in 41 games and had often looked sluggish. Coach Joel Quenneville said he's "looking for a little bit more from (Seabrook) ... whether it's defending, quickness or offensively." ... Kane, Chicago's leading scorer, and Minnesota C Eric Staal were named Wednesday to the NHL All-Star Game. ... Minnesota RW Nino Niederreiter missed his second game with a lower-body injury. He is expected to be out until the Wild returns from their bye week on Jan. 20. ... Chicago had seven defensemen its lineup. ... Blackhawks C Nick Schmaltz played his 100th NHL game.

UP NEXT

Wild: Host Winnipeg on Saturday night.

Blackhawks: Host Winnipeg on Friday night.

Hamilton's overtime goal lifts Calgary past Minnesota 3-2

By MIKE COOK
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Dougie Hamilton made sure the Calgary Flames started a crucial road trip on a winning note.

Hamilton scored 2:39 into overtime to lift Calgary over the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Micheal Ferland and Sean Monahan each had a goal and assist and Johnny Gaudreau added three assists for the Flames, who began a four-game trip with a season-high fourth straight win. Mike Smith made 33 saves.

After Smith stopped Ryan Suter on a breakaway, Gaudreau outraced Jason Zucker to the puck going the other way. Gaudreau waited and fed Hamilton for a one-timer.

It's the second straight game-winning goal for Hamilton. He scored with 16 seconds left Saturday as Calgary beat Anaheim 3-2.

"I think we're playing solid," Hamilton said. "Smitty's back there, I think he's been unbelievable, I don't think we're in this game if it's not for him."

Smith's stops included an early glove save on Matt Cullen and a left pad save to stop Mikael Granlund alone in front midway through the second.

"We just couldn't capitalize," Suter said. "In the third period, we had nothing to lose and you go for it, and too bad we couldn't have pulled it out."

Granlund and Jared Spurgeon tied the game in the final period for Minnesota, which lost for just the third time in its last 14 home games - two of which were in overtime.

Granlund got the Wild within one by beating Smith high on the glove side at 7:16. He has five goals in his past seven games.

A slap shot by Spurgeon from the right circle clanked off the far post and into the Flames' net six minutes later, further igniting a crowd that booed Minnesota off the ice after the second period.

"In the third period, I thought we sat back a little bit too much. We should have pushed," Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said.

Minnesota had two power plays in the final 6:35 but failed to convert. It was 0 for 5 with the man advantage.

"We need to put it in," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We had the puck all around them and one pass too many here, one pass too many there and not enough shots and Smith was on his game."

Calgary and Minnesota began the night among a group of five teams within one point of each other for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

"Didn't want to give them that extra point there, but we found a way to get the two points and keep this win thing going," Gaudreau said.

Monahan gave Calgary a 2-0 lead in the final minutes of the middle frame as he redirected a pass from Ferland past a sprawling Alex Stalock. With his 20th goal of the season, Monahan becomes the ninth player in Flames history to reach that mark in five consecutive seasons.

Ferland finished off a 3-on-2 with Monahan and Gaudreau six minutes into the game for a 1-0 lead. It was his third goal in three games and 18th of the season, second-best on the team.

The first-line trio has scored 51 of Calgary's 116 goals this season.

"Me, Mony and Ferls, we're building some chemistry, which is really important in this league. We keep building that chemistry and having that confidence, it will be huge for us," Gaudreau said.

NOTES: Wild LW Nino Niederreiter missed the game with a lower-body injury. Boudreau said he's expected to be out until after the bye. ... Ferland has a career-high 26 points, one more than last season. His 18 goals are a career best. ... Minnesota was 4 for 4 on the penalty kill to increase its league-best home percentage to 92.8. Visitors have just five goals in 69 chances.

UP NEXT

Flames: Thursday night at Tampa Bay.

Wild: Wednesday night at Chicago.

Cullen, Staal each score 2 in Wild's 5-1 win over Panthers

By BRIAN HALL
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The Minnesota Wild marked Zach Parise's season debut after recovering from back surgery with a relentless performance typical of the star forward.

Matt Cullen and Eric Staal each scored twice and the Wild beat Florida 5-1 Tuesday night, snapping the Panthers' five-game winning streak. Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves and Charlie Coyle added an empty-netter to help Minnesota win for the third time in four games.

Jared Spurgeon had three assists for the Wild, who put up a season-high 41 shots - including a season-high for a period with 19 in a dominant second period.

"I think our zone time really wore them down," said Parise, who played 13:35 with three shots in his first game after missing the 39. "We talked before how good they are. Transition, they want to get out of their zone and get up the ice with four guys and attack. But we did a really good job when they were trying to break out staying above their guys and making them turn the puck over."

Staal had his fourth multi-goal game of the season in adding to his team lead with 17 goals. Cullen had his first multi-goal game since April 7, 2016, doubling his season output.

"Getting him back is such a big lift for us," Cullen said of Parise's return. "Obviously the way he competes and the way he competes on the ice himself, also the trickle-down effect throughout our lineup. It was evident tonight. I thought all the lines were going. "

Jonathan Huberdeau scored his 14th goal for Florida.

James Reimer stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced before leaving the game during the second period with an injury after Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad and Wild forward Mikael Granlund fell on him. He said he felt good after the game and expected to be ready for the team's next game.

Harri Sateri made his NHL debut in replacing Reimer, allowing one goal on six shots. Reimer returned after 3:26 of game time and finished the second, but Sateri played the third and finished with 13 saves for the game.

"There was no execution and, worse than that, there wasn't a heck of a lot of compete for 40 minutes," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "By the time we turned it on a little bit and changed things in the third, it was just too late."

Reimer was a big part of Florida's winning streak. With Roberto Luongo out since Dec. 7 with a lower-body injury, Reimer had started 12 straight games for the Panthers and had shutouts in two of the past three games.

"They got Parise, everyone's jumping and excited to go, I'm sure," Reimer said. "They came hard and we didn't have our best game. There's nothing really too crazy about it. One team was playing really well and one team didn't bring their `A' game."

Cullen scored his first goal in 10 games to open the scoring in the first and Minnesota controlled the first two periods with a 32-11 advantage in shots on goal.

"It's good. You could see that some guys, like I thought (Tyler) Ennis played a real good game," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said of the increased competition for lineup spots with Parise's return. "These guys are all vying now for spots. Cully picks it up. Ennis picks it up, a lot of guys played well. That's what you want to see. You want to see that inner competition all the time."

NOTES: Florida F Radim Vrbata missed his third straight game with an illness. ... Wild F Nino Niederreiter missed his fifth straight game with a lower-body injury, but he could possibly return to the lineup on Thursday. Niederreiter has been skating and is expected to join the team's practice on Wednesday. ... The Panthers have never won a game in regulation in Minnesota's Xcel Energy Center. Florida is 0-9-2 in the building. ... The Wild are 10-1-1 in their last 12 home games. ... Ennis had two assists.

UP NEXT

Panthers: Travel to Boston for a game against the Bruins on Thursday.

Wild: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Saros' 29 saves lead Predators over Wild 3-0

By JIM DIAMOND
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Juuse Saros stepped in for Pekka Rinne and delivered a gem for Nashville.

Saros made 29 saves for his second shutout this season, P.K. Subban scored his ninth goal and the Predators beat the Minnesota Wild 3-0 on Saturday night.

Saros was quick to credit the players in front of him following the game.

"They were better in front of our net," the Finn said. "We didn't give them as much chances as yesterday. I think we were more active today."

Subban also had an assist, and Scott Hartnell and Viktor Arvidsson also scored. Calle Jarnkrok had two assists for the Predators, who have won two of three.

Alex Stalock made 26 saves, and the Wild lost a night after beating Nashville in Minnesota.

"We had opportunities in the second period," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "If you don't take advantage of your chances, something is going to come up to bite you."

Hartnell scored the game's first goal at 2:23 of the third period. Nick Bonino's shot from the right boards hit the side of the net, and Hartnell took possession of the puck and skated around the cage. From the left doorstep, Hartnell's wraparound backhand tipped off Stalock's blocker and in.

"That's his bread and butter," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "If you can put it within 10 feet of the net, just draw a loop 10 feet around the net, that's where he needs to be. That's where he's at his best. That's where he scored his goal tonight."

Hartnell was a healthy scratch Friday. This was his first goal since Nov. 3.

"That first goal was going to be a big one when it's a game that tight," said Wild forward Matt Cullen, a former Predator. "We weren't able to generate much on that last part there."

Subban made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 7:50 of the third. With Matt Dumba in the box for tripping, Subban's slap shot from the center of the blue line deflected off the stick of Wild forward Zack Mitchell.

"I'm just trying to do my job and I have great teammates, they are great players that make great plays," Subban said. "I have just been able to put the puck on net and good things have happened. I try to keep my game simple, but what can I say? That is just the (benefit) of playing on a good team. Any player in this league that has individual success will tell you that without a good team around you, you are not going to have much success."

Arvidsson added an empty-net goal with 2:20 to go.

Saros was sharp all evening, with his best save coming with 8:59 remaining in the second when Gustav Olofsson came down the left side unchecked and fired a wrist shot that Saros turned aside.

Following his hat trick Friday, Mikael Granlund paced all Minnesota players with seven shots on goal Saturday.

Stalock stopped eight shots in the first and 11 in the second. He is 0-3-0 in his career against the Predators.

NOTES: Nashville LW Filip Forsberg missed the game with an upper-body injury. The Predators placed their leading goal scorer on injured reserve earlier Saturday. ... The Predators are 5-0-1 this season when the game is tied going into the third. ... Olofsson was scratched in Minnesota's last eight contests. ... The Wild have allowed one power-play goal against in their last three games.

UP NEXT

Wild: Host Florida on Tuesday night.

Predators: At Vegas on Tuesday night.

Wild storn back to sink Senators

OTTAWA -- In a game that saw 10 goals scored, the turning point was a save. Make that two.

When Minnesota goalie Alex Stalock stopped Nate Thompson's second-period short-handed breakaway and then Tom Pyatt on the rebound, it prevented the Senators from re-establishing a two-goal lead.

It also allowed the Wild to continue their five-goal run on the way to a 6-4, come-from-behind victory on Tuesday night at Canadian Tire Centre.

"Stalock made a big save on that breakaway and that was as good as a goal," Wild defenseman Nate Prosser said. "There was no looking back from there. We tied it up and had our swagger and confidence going into the third and took it from there."

Prosser's first goal of the season at 1:48 of the third period gave the Wild their initial lead of the night, and one they did not relinquish.

Eric Staal led Minnesota with two goals and one assist for a three-point effort. Also scoring for the Wild (18-13-3) were Jonas Brodin, Chris Stewart and Mikko Koivu.

Erik Karlsson led the Senators (11-14-7) with two goals, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Derick Brassard had the others.

"I think we came out the way that we wanted," said Karlsson, whose team took a 3-1 into the second half of the game before Stewart started the Minnesota rally at 10:19 of the second period.

"Even in the second, I don't think we did a bad job, they just did a really good job there. Once we were up 3-1, they came back strong at us.

"They made us work really hard. We got a little fatigued and we didn't make the best decisions. We still went into the third period with a 3-3 game and felt good about ourselves.

"Unfortunately, they kept coming and we couldn't really find the solution to stop them early enough and create our own stuff."

While Craig Anderson had 34 stops for the Senators, Stalock finished with 28. Along with the short-handed saves in the second period, he also made a big stop against Bobby Ryan with the Wild leading 4-3.

"Thank God I got over there," Stalock said. "He probably wants that back. He fired it on the ice. If he gets it up 12 inches, it's in the net. It's another save that turns out to be a big one."

Staal said, "That's big in the NHL if you can get key saves at important times. It makes a huge difference. That game could have got away from us and Al made some huge stops to keep it tight and give us a chance to come back and we did."

The loss was a disheartening one for the Senators, who had designs on climbing back into the playoff hunt after two wins. In trying to build a three-game winning streak for the first time since early October, they turned in a sloppy defensive zone effort.

"Our discipline killed us and gave them momentum," Senators coach Guy Boucher said. "We came out, and we played hard, and we gave ourselves a lead late in the second period. It's definitely not an approach or attitude or work ethic, it became a discipline thing."

Boucher spun positive the fact the Senators managed two wins in a three-game homestand before visiting the Sunshine State for pre-Christmas games against Tampa on Thursday and Florida on Saturday. But this loss left a bitter taste in the mouth of his players.

"At the end of the day, we can't be giving up two-goal leads, especially at home," Ottawa's Mike Hoffman said. "Obviously, you can look at the game and say it might have been this, it might have been that, but at the end of the day we've got to do a better job of closing games out."

Meanwhile, the Wild are also headed to Florida for two before the break, visiting the Panthers on Thursday and Tampa on Friday.

"It's a big week for us," Staal said. "We get two opportunities down in Florida against two good teams and we've got our dads tagging along, so we get to enjoy two days with them and hopefully tag on two wins."

NOTES: Wild G Devan Dubnyk will join the team in Florida and be on the ice Thursday, coach Bruce Boudreau said. Dubnyk has missed four games after suffering a lower body injury Dec. 12 against Calgary. ... The Wild also scratched D Gustav Olofsson and RW Zack Mitchell. ... Senators F Gabriel Dumont skated in the morning but was given a seat to rest a sore foot. Senators C Nick Paul took his spot in the lineup. ... Senators D Ben Harpur was the other scratch.

Senators hope to put aside distractions vs. Wild

Stats, LLC

OTTAWA -- While avoiding conversations about their owner's public complaints over attendance, the Ottawa Senators are attempting to do what they can to bring fans back to Canadian Tire Centre.

And that, of course, is get themselves back into the playoff race.

After the fifth-worst November (3-7-1) in franchise history and a December that saw the Senators win just one of their first six games, they are starting to show signs of life.

By defeating the visiting Minnesota Wild on Tuesday, the Senators (11-13-7) will have their first three-game winning streak since the second week of the season.

What remains to be seen is how many will be on hand to witness the attempt after almost 34,000 paid inflated ticket prices to watch Saturday's 3-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL's first outdoor game of the season -- and after Senators owner Eugene Melnyk suggested he could relocate the team or dramatically cut the payroll if attendance doesn't improve.

"That's none of our business," team captain Erik Karlsson said Monday when asked about Melnyk's comments. "That's what he worries about. We worry about playing hockey. That's all we can control. That's what we get paid to do. We show up here every day and do the best we can at what we do."

Karlsson, the two-time Norris Trophy winner who has just one goal this season, did about everything anyone could ask in the victory over the Canadiens. Along with an assist on the game winner, he saw a season-high 32:55 of ice time, was a plus-3, had eight blocked shots and seven shots on goal.

It was a performance that suggested his future is not his focus even though he is lined up to become one of the league's highest paid players when his contract expires at the end of next season.

"I'm happy right now, happy where I'm at, worried about making sure we get out of this slump we're in right now and making the postseason this season," Karlsson said.

The Wild (17-13-3) will be playing its second of a four-game road trip that started with Saturday's 4-1 loss in Chicago.

With No. 1 goalie Devan Dubnyk sidelined indefinitely by a lower body injury, Minnesota is relying on Alex Stalock between the pipes. Stalock stopped a season-high 42 shots in Saturday's setback, and in five game since Dec. 10 has commendable numbers, with a 3-2-0 record that includes one shutout to go along with a 2.10 goals against average and a .935 save percentage.

"He was awesome again tonight," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau told reports after the Chicago game. "The guy competes his (butt) off. You hopefully can get better results. This week, it's not all doom and gloom. We were 2-2. We didn't lose the week. We've got a chance to win two out of three before Christmas, or three out of three, depending on what goes on. And then we'll be back at it."

With just seven goals in its last four games, Minnesota needs to get going offensively.

Defenseman Matt Dumba has been carrying much of the load, scoring the lone goal Saturday to give him three in the last two games and five in the last eight.

"He's probably the only one with offensive confidence right now," Boudreau said. "What he's doing is he's starting to shoot the puck. He's got a great shot. If he shoots the puck a lot he's going to get a lot more of those."

Senators coach Guy Boucher confirmed that Craig Anderson will get the chance to win his third straight on Tuesday, while winger Gabriel Dumont will sit with a foot injury. The team has recalled defenseman Ben Harpur from its AHL affiliate.

Kane scores twice as Blackhawks subdue Wild

CHICAGO -- Blackhawks defenseman Jordan Oesterle had the puck on his stick when he looked up and saw Chicago teammate Patrick Kane cutting behind a defender for a potential breakaway.

In a moment, Oesterle snapped a long stretch pass across both blue lines and onto the blade of Kane's stick.

Kane delivered on the breakaway with his second goal of the game, and the Blackhawks cruised to a 4-1 win over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night.

"He's unbelievable. I think he's one of the best players in the world," Oesterle, with a smile, said of Kane. "When I saw it was him, I just (thought), 'Put this right on his tape, and he'll do the rest."

Ryan Hartman and Tommy Wingels also scored for Chicago (17-11-5), which increased its season-best winning streak to five games.

Minnesota (17-13-3) lost its second game in a row after winning the previous four.

"Let's start getting back to the way we can play," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "The last two games, a forward hasn't gotten a goal. It's all four lines, quite frankly."

Part of Minnesota's scoring struggles on Sunday could be attributed to Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford, who made 27 saves to improve to 16-7-2 on the season. Crawford has not lost in regulation in his past 11 starts dating to Nov. 12 against the New Jersey Devils.

On the opposite end of the rink, Wild goaltender Alex Stalock did what he could to keep his team in contention. Stalock turned aside 42 shots but dropped to 5-5-1.

Kane set the tone with the first two goals of the game. He opened the scoring at 10:56 of the first period when he unleashed a one-timer from the right circle. Center Nick Schmaltz set up the goal with a pass across the slot.

With 4:24 to go in the second period, Kane increased Chicago's lead to 2-0. Oesterle hit him in stride for his team-leading 14th goal of the season.

"Great plays by both of them," Kane said. "You kind of expect that from Schmaltz, a great pass cross-ice, just trying to get it on net and one-time it. And then I'm fortunate enough to be coming off the bench there with some speed, and (Oesterle) made a great pass. It was hard, it was flat, and it was right on my tape skating into it."

Boudreau said a poorly executed line change by the Wild gave Kane the breakaway chance.

"He's a great player," Boudreau said. "You can't give a great player too much opportunity or they're going to put it in the net. ... I thought at 1-0, there was no way we weren't going to come back. At 2-0, it became difficult."

The Blackhawks made it 3-0 at 1:41 of the third period. Hartman intercepted a clearing attempt along the boards and headed toward the right side of the crease. He chipped a shot past Stalock for his first goal since Oct. 28.

Minnesota trimmed the deficit to 3-1 when Dumba scored at 5:56 of the third period. Dumba aimed a slap shot through traffic for his third goal in the past two games, and his sixth on the season.

Wingels finished the scoring with a short-handed, empty-net goal with four minutes left.

Hartman said Chicago's winning streak was the product of patience and hard work.

"I think we've been playing confident, putting together some good periods and some good shifts," Hartman said. "The power play looks good, we're getting a lot of chances. The penalty kill looks good, it has looked good all year. All around, five-on-five, we've had the puck a lot more. We're looking good."

Meanwhile, Minnesota will try to snap out of its slump with three games remaining on its road trip.

"Frustration is the most useless emotion you can have," Boudreau said. "It does nothing but hurt you. We have to get away from it."

NOTES: Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane scored his 298th and 299th career goals, which moved him past Dennis Hull for sole possession of fifth place in franchise history. The 29-year-old trails only Brett Hull (604 goals), Stan Mikita (541), Steve Larmer (406) and Denis Savard (377). ... Wild G Devan Dubnyk missed his third game in a row because of a lower-body injury. ... Blackhawks D Jan Rutta was sidelined for the second straight game because of an upper-body injury. ... Minnesota's healthy scratches were LW Marcus Foligno and D Gustav Olofsson. ... Chicago scratched RW Richard Panik and D Ville Pokka.

Stalock, Wild shut out Maple Leafs

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- If Alex Stalock's performance against one of the NHL's offensive powerhouses is any indication of how he will replace the indefinitely sidelined Devan Dubnyk, the Minnesota Wild will be just fine in the interim.

Goals by Tyler Ennis and Mikael Granlund supplemented a 28-save performance by Stalock as the Wild defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 on Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center.

Stalock, playing in place of the injured Dubnyk, picked up his fifth win of the season (5-3-1) and fifth career shutout in his first appearance against his former team.

Toronto's Frederik Andersen made 24 saves in seeing his record fall to 17-10-1.

Stalock spent four months in the Maple Leafs organization after he was acquired via trade from San Jose in February 2016. He was immediately waived and spent most of the remainder of the season on the bench of the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies.

Minnesota helped Stalock's cause by blocking 21 Toronto shots and killing off four power plays in winning its fifth straight game at home and fourth in a row overall.

"I think we played a great 60-minute game as a group," Stalock said. "The penalty kill was unbelievable. We kept them to the outside, didn't give them any really grade-A looks and I got to see a lot of pucks, which for me, if I can see the puck, it helps a ton."

The Maple Leafs entered the game ranked fifth in the NHL in goals per game (3.31) and had yet to be shut out this season, but Toronto could not solve Stalock, who made 16 of his saves in the third period.

"They're a strong defensive team," Toronto forward James van Riemsdyk said. "It kind of reminded me of a lot of similar stuff they did to us last time and they do a good job of making it tough to get inside and penetrate towards their net. I felt we had a couple of decent looks, especially in the third period, but the goalie made some good saves too."

Trailing 1-0 after two periods with only 12 shots on goal, Toronto (20-12-1) had the Wild (17-11-3) on their heels early in the third, firing the period's first eight shots.

But Stalock stood tall, denying Tyler Bozak's blast from the center hash marks at 2:22 and a redirect by Van Riemsdyk at 6:12 to preserve the lead until Minnesota's offense could strike once more.

From behind Andersen, Eric Staal slipped a backhand pass between Patrick Marleau and the left post to Granlund, who buried his seventh goal at 8:06 of the final period.

Ennis, one game removed from being a healthy scratch against Calgary on Tuesday, scored his sixth goal of the season and second in his last four games late in the first period.

Wild defenseman Ryan Suter picked off Connor Brown's clearing attempt along the left wing boards and found Ennis alone behind the Toronto net. Ennis stepped out front and beat Andersen with a shot just inside the right post at 18:06.

"I guess everyone plays well with a chip on their shoulder, a little bit of fire," Ennis said. "I think it was more our line got it in, played smart, played hard and played the way we were supposed to and we were successful."

The goal gave Ennis, formerly of the Buffalo Sabres, 22 points in 30 career games against Toronto, his most against any NHL franchise.

Minnesota nearly doubled its lead on a second-period power play when Mike Reilly's shot caromed off the end wall to Charlie Coyle at the right post. But Coyle's shot clipped the post and Ryan Murphy's follow-up hit Andersen's dropped stick before it was covered.

Andersen also made a pair of point-blank saves on Staal early in the period and robbed Matt Cullen on a deflection later in the middle frame.

"I thought (Stalock) had a good game, and I thought they protected him well," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. "I don't think either team gave up many opportunities so it was a night for the goaltenders that way."

NOTES: Minnesota recalled goaltender Steve Michalek from Iowa of the American Hockey League on Thursday morning. ... Toronto C Auston Matthews sat out his third straight game with a lower-body injury. The Maple Leafs are 5-2-0 this season without their star forward. ... Wild LW Zach Parise and D Jared Spurgeon each skated with the team Thursday but remained out of the Minnesota lineup. ... Toronto D Roman Polak played his 200th game in a Maple Leafs uniform Thursday night. In two stints with the Leafs, Polak has collected 11 goals and 36 points.. ... Wild D Gustav Olofsson and LW Marcus Foligno were healthy scratches for Minnesota, which wraps up its three-game homestand on Saturday afternoon against Edmonton. ... D Connor Carrick and RW Kasperi Kapanen sat out for Toronto, which concludes its three-game trip on Friday night in Detroit.

Wild goalie Dubnyk week to week with lower-body injury

NHL.com

Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk is week to week with a lower-body injury.

Dubnyk was injured in the first period of a 2-1 shootout win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

"He's coming on the trip but he's not going to play," coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He will probably (be) off the ice until the weekend. Then we're going to Ottawa (Tuesday) and then Florida (Dec. 22), he's got a better chance to get on the ice and work with the team.

Following a game against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, the Wild begin a four-game road trip against the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.

RELATED: Fantasy impact of Dubnyk injury

In 23 games this season, Dubnyk is 12-8-2 with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage with three shutouts. He's started at least 65 games in each of the past two seasons with the Wild.

"You probably don't notice it early on," Boudreau said. "It'll be noticeable if he has an extended period of time out. I mean, like any great player, the teams get back the first week or two because they play above what they're capable of because they know great players are out. If it lasts three, four, five weeks then all of a sudden they're in the same boat as a lot of other teams that have lost their No. 1 goalie. It becomes problematic."

Backup Alex Stalock replaced Dubnyk and made 16 saves on 17 shots in the win against Calgary. He will start against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, SND, NHL.TV).

Stalock is 4-3-1 with a 2.93 GAA and .907 save percentage this season.

"He's done well for us," Boudreau said. "The only game where he's been moderately average was [a 7-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 27] and the rest of the guys didn't really help him that night but we have all the confidence in the world in him."

The Wild recalled goaltender Steve Michalek from Iowa of the American Hockey League. He is 6-1-2 with a 2.52 goals-against average and .926 save percentage this season. The 24-year-old was selected by Minnesota in the sixth round (No. 161) of the 2011 NHL Draft.

- NHL.com Correspondent Jessi Pierce contributed

Wild edge Flames in shootout

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- If Minnesota Wild players got paid extra for overtime, and shootouts, they'd have significant extra money for holiday shopping these days.

Chris Stewart and Mikael Granlund scored in a shootout on Tuesday, lifting the Minnesota Wild to a 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames. It was their third straight victory, all of which have happened beyond the 60-minute mark.

The Wild (16-11-3) got a regulation goal from Matt Cullen and 16 saves from backup goalie Alex Stalock. Devan Dubnyk started the game in goal for Minnesota but left with an injury.

"It's amazing how many times a backup goalie comes in a game and shuts the other team down," said Wild coach Bruce Boudreau, who said he expects to know more about Dubnyk's health on Wednesday. "I'm amazed. You get a 3-0 lead or something and the other team changes goalies and usually they never get another goal."

Calgary (16-12-3) got a regulation goal from Micheal Ferland and 21 saves from goalie Mike Smith but saw its two-game win streak snapped. Johnny Gaudreau had the only shootout goal for the Flames, who have earned at least a point in four straight, their longest such streak of the season. The Flames were 0-for-4 on the power play.

"You get four cracks there, you want to take advantage. And I didn't think that was good enough," Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan said. "Our specialty teams, the looks they got on their power play, I didn't like those either. I thought we played well tonight. I thought we were the better team for most of the minutes, but our specialty teams weren't good enough."

The Wild had one of their slowest starts of the season, needing more than half of the first period just to register a shot on goal, but still emerged with a lead after 20 minutes. The Flames had a 10-1 advantage in shots and got a pair of power plays before Cullen backhanded in a shot during a scramble in front of Smith.

"We were kind of on our heels," said Cullen, after the Wild returned from road games in Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Jose. "Sometimes that happens when you come off the West Coast swing. We just had a hard time getting our legs going, but I thought that we dug down when we needed it."

Dubnyk turned aside all 10 Calgary shots in the first period but was not on the ice or the bench at the start of the second.

While Stalock took over in goal, the Wild announced that Dubnyk had a lower-body injury that kept him out of the remainder of the game. Boudreau said he knew from the first media timeout that Dubnyk was struggling, and relayed the message that Dubnyk could come off the ice at any time.

Ferland finally solved Stalock with 63 seconds left in the middle period, blasting a rising shot from the blue line that found its way through a crowd, deflecting off Minnesota defenseman Jonas Brodin and beating the goalie high on the glove side.

Ferland had a wide open net to shoot at in the third period after a cross-ice pass from Gaudreau, but his shot hit the crossbar, then deflected out and hit referee T.J. Luxmore in the head. Luxmore left the ice, and Wes McCauley served as the lone referee for several minutes in the third.

"It was a great play by Johnny and just one of those bounces you wish would just go in," Ferland said. "I couldn't have been more wide open and Johnny made a great play and I should have put that in."

NOTES: Wild C Matt Cullen's first-period goal was the 250th of his career. He is in his 20th NHL season and signed as a free agent with the Wild last summer after winning the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017. ... Flames RW Jaromir Jagr missed his fourth consecutive game while battling a lower-body injury. The 45-year-old has been skating in practice but did not make the trip to Minnesota. ... G Devan Dubnyk made his 100th appearance in a Minnesota uniform. When he left the game due to injury, Connor Beaupre, the son of former Minnesota North Stars goalie Don Beaupre and an assistant coach for a Twin Cities high school team, suited up as an emergency backup and was available for the third period.

Gaborik, Kopitar carry Kings to sixth win in row

LOS ANGELES -- The third period was full of milestones for the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

Marian Gaborik scored twice, the second representing the 400th goal and 800th point of his NHL career, Anze Kopitar recorded his 500th career assist, and the Kings came from behind to win their sixth consecutive game, beating the Minnesota Wild 5-2 at Staples Center.

"That's probably as good a third period as we've had this year," Kings coach John Stevens said.

Gaborik, who scored the first goal in Wild history and remains the franchise leader in several categories, was moved up to Los Angeles' top line with Kopitar and Dustin Brown late in the second period, and the trio quickly produced results.

Gaborik finished a two-on-one with Anze Kopitar to tie the score 2-2 at 4:35 of the third period.

Kopitar held the puck until Minnesota defenseman Ryan Suter and goaltender Devan Dubnyk committed to a shot, but Kopitar quickly slid the puck to Gaborik on his left, and Gaborik scored into the open side.

Gaborik was playing in his seventh game this season after missing the first seven weeks following knee surgery in April.

"I don't know. It's still just one-quarter of the season, the lines always change," Gaborik said when asked about his new line combination. "Whoever plays with anybody, we have a strong team and we trust in each other, and hopefully we can keep it up."

After Adrian Kempe put Los Angeles in front at 12:38, Gaborik made it 4-2 with six minutes left when he shot through traffic and the puck went off the stick of Wild defenseman Matt Dumba and past Dubnyk.

Kopitar received his second assist on the play, the 500th of his career, and he scored an empty-net goal with 56 seconds left.

"Kopi's just been a horse all year, and Gabby's worked so hard to come back and really wants to play and be a productive player," Stevens said. "It's kind of fitting that those two guys would partner up on a milestone like that."

Jake Muzzin had a goal and an assist, Drew Doughty added three assists, and Jonathan Quick made 19 saves for Los Angeles (18-8-3).

Charlie Coyle and Tyler Ennis scored and Dubnyk made 23 saves for Minnesota (13-11-3).

The Wild were on the front end of a three-game trip that also includes games against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday and the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

"We got to make sure we're doing the right things defensively," Coyle said. "We've got to find a way. It's disappointing."

Kempe put the Kings on top when he tossed the puck toward the Minnesota goal from the sidewall. Dubnyk poked the puck away, but it went off the skate of Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin and back across the goal line.

"When they put their push on, we just didn't do anything about it," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said.

After neither team scored the first 30 minutes, the Wild and Kings combined for three goals in a 4:04 span of the second period.

Coyle gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead when he redirected a pass from Chris Stewart at 10:30.

Daniel Winnik started the play when he dropped a pass to Stewart, who shot from the far edge of the right circle. Coyle had a step on Kempe and used his backhand to redirect the puck for his second goal of the season.

The Kings tied the score at 14:24 when Doughty passed from the top of the right circle to his partner at the top of the left circle, and Muzzin scored on a hard slap shot for his third of the season.

The Wild quickly regained the lead at 2-1 when Ennis took the puck from behind the Wild net and slapped in his own rebound at 15:34.

NOTES: Wild G Devan Dubnyk came in 7-4-1 in his career against the Kings with a .931 save-percentage and 2.29 goals-against average, better than his .916 and 2.55 career marks. ... Minnesota C Charlie Coyle has a five-game point streak (one goal, four assists). ... Kings LW Marian Gaborik has eight points (five goals, three assists) in 12 career games against Minnesota. ... Los Angeles came in with the top penalty-kill unit in the NHL at 89.5 percent, and the Kings thwarted the Wild's lone power play. ... Kings C Andy Andreoff, who has been sidelined since getting knocked down by a punch from Anaheim Ducks D Kevin Bieksa on Nov. 25, has been cleared to resume practicing. ... Kings C Torrey Mitchell went 6-0 on faceoffs.

Staal's 3rd-period pair gives Wild 4-2 win vs. Knights

By DAVE CAMPBELL
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Lagging behind in the Western Conference well past the quarter mark of the season, the Minnesota Wild were embarrassed by their last two losses with a whopping total of 13 goals allowed.

Pride and experience kicked in for a key game against the upstart Vegas Golden Knights.

Eric Staal scored the go-ahead goal with 7:55 left and tacked on an empty-netter to give the Wild a 4-2 win over the Golden Knights on Thursday night.

“We’re aware as a group what went on the last two games. The important thing is the response,” Staal said. “The important thing is to come out and play the way we know we’re capable of, and we did that I thought for the most part all night.”

Mikael Granlund and Jonas Brodin also scored for the Wild, who wrapped up the month with a 4-0-1 record in their last five home games despite a series of sloppy and sluggish performances throughout November. They lost 6-3 to St. Louis on Saturday and 7-2 at Winnipeg on Monday.

“We were just trying to get back to feeling like we used to feel,” said goalie Devan Dubnyk, who made 29 saves.

Brayden McNabb and Jonathan Marchessault had goals for the Golden Knights, who took their second straight loss after a five-game winning streak.

“The two teams are very similar, and I thought we played well,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant said, adding: “It was a coin toss who was going to win.”

After allowing 30 goals in a seven-game span since three consecutive shutouts by Dubnyk, the defense was much more to Wild coach Bruce Boudreau’s liking.

“We understand that we’re not going to win a lot of 6-5 games, so we have to win the 4-2, the 3-1, the 2-1 kind of games,” Boudreau said.

The winner for the Wild was started by Matt Dumba’s slap shot that glanced off Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland in the front to set up Staal’s rebound . Dumba formed an effective defense pairing with stalwart Ryan Suter, with Jared Spurgeon out for at least two weeks because of a groin injury. Brodin and Ryan Murphy, a recent AHL call-up, also played well together. Murphy poked his stick to stave off a potential tying goal in the closing minutes. Mike Reilly’s slick cross-ice pass set up Granlund’s goal , the first of the game after more than 37 scoreless minutes.

All in all, a night well done by the embattled Wild defensemen. The Golden Knights went 0 for 5 on the power play.

“We played a really tight game,” Dumba said. “We were really solid.”

Granlund’s shot scraped the same post that Brendan Leipsic hit in the first period, one of three attempts by the Golden Knights that pinged off a pipe. James Neal and Stefan Matteau had the others. Dubnyk’s 10th victory of the season was well-earned, though.

He denied Marchessault’s close-range wrist shot with the inside of his blocker with 61 seconds left, among several prime scoring chances the Golden Knights produced down the stretch. In the second period, Dubnyk’s sliding save denied Leipsic on a rush.

The Knights, with former Wild forwards Erik Haula and Alex Tuch on the first line, still put together a potent attack. McNabb, the defenseman who signed a four-year, $10 million contract extension this week, broke up a pass in the Wild zone and trailed a 4-on-3 before a drop pass from Matteau set him up for a score .

Then Marchessault gave the Knights the lead, going high to Dubnyk’s glove side again, off a drop pass by Cody Eakin, all in a span of less than two minutes.

But soon after, the Wild tied it up. Nino Niederreiter, who was earlier denied with a difficult pad save by Knights goalie Malcolm Subban, muscled with McNabb for position near the crease as Brodin’s slap shot glanced off McNabb’s stick and into the net.

“We had our chances. We’ve just got to bear down at the end of the day,” McNabb said. “But I think we liked how we played.”

NOTES: Wild RW Jason Zucker, who assisted on Granlund’s goal, grew up playing roller hockey in Las Vegas and is the only Nevada-raised player currently in the NHL. ... The Golden Knights placed LW David Perron on injured reserve before the game with an unspecified injury. ... Granlund had six goals in 15 games in November. ... Haula and Golden Knights D Nate Schmidt were roommates at the University of Minnesota.

UP NEXT

Golden Knights: Stay on the road to face Winnipeg on Friday night. They beat the Jets 5-2 at home three weeks ago.

Wild: Host St. Louis on Saturday night, their first meeting in Minnesota since former head coach Mike Yeo and the Blues eliminated the Wild from the first round of the playoffs in five games last spring.

NHL fines Blackhawks' Kane, Wild's Dumba $5K each for separate incidrnts

The NHL handed out fines Tuesday to Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane and Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba for seperate incidents. Both players were docked $5,000, the maximum allowable fine under the CBA. The money from both fines goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Kane's fine was for a slash on Anaheim Ducks winger Nick Ritchie during the Blackhawks' 7-3 win over Anaheim Monday. Kane was assessed a minor penalty for slashing.

Dumba was fined for unsportsmanlike conduct after squirting a water bottle at Winnipeg Jets' forward Matt Hendricks. Dumba was assessed a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Jets score 7 straight in 7-2 win over Wild

Associated Press

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — The Winnipeg Jets are off to their best start ever thanks to a wild finish Monday night.

Linemates Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor each had a goal and two assists, and the Jets scored seven straight goals to beat the Minnesota Wild 7-2.

Joel Armia, Jacob Trouba, Mathieu Perreault and Bryan Little also scored for the Jets. Armia added an assist.

Connor Hellebuyck made 17 saves for the Winnipeg, which has won four straight and seven of eight at home.

“Down two early, we never thought we were out of this game,” Perreault said. “And we battled back.”

Jason Zucker and Chris Stewart scored for Minnesota. The Wild left Alex Stalock in the entire game, and he stopped 21 shots.

“From about the 13-minute mark of the first period, we just quit playing,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. “It’s easy to say we’re going to watch the video, but it’s a compete level.

“Once the Jets started to play a little bit better it was like ‘woe is me’ and we didn’t compete against them.”

The Jets have won 15 of 24 games this season, the quickest to 15 wins in franchise history.

Minnesota jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period, but then Winnipeg’s barrage began with two goals in the final six minutes of the opening frame.

Zucker extended his points streak to four games after the Wild took advantage of a turnover just outside Minnesota’s blue line by defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. Three Wild players reversed direction, and Zucker’s backhand beat Hellebuyck at 8:01, giving him two goals and two assists during his streak.

Minnesota had a goal by Zack Mitchell overturned by a coach’s challenge after Charlie Coyle was deemed offside. The Wild scored one that stood just over a minute later when Stewart made it 2-0 at 13:54.

A rebound from Josh Morrissey’s shot from the point ended up on Armia’s stick to get Winnipeg on the board at 15:47. Scheifele made it 2-2 on the power play at 17:15 when he took a cross-ice pass from Wheeler, who was playing his 500th game for the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise.

“It goes fast,” Wheeler said of the 500 games. “It’s crazy. It feels like yesterday we were still in the first season here. That being said, we’ve spit out three kids in those 500 games here.”

Wheeler was traded to Atlanta from Boston in February 2011 and played 23 games with the new club. The Thrashers were then bought and moved to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season. He’s played 721 NHL career games.

After coming up empty on a pair of power plays early in the second, Winnipeg took the lead when Scheifele fed a quick pass to a rushing Trouba, who beat Stalock as he was trying to move across the crease at 10:57. Perreault scored with a one-timer at 14:19.

NOTES: The Jets had outshot the visitors 17-11 heading into the third. Connor, Little and Wheeler scored in the final period.

UP NEXT

Wild: Host Vegas on Thursday night.

Jets: Play at Colorado on Wednesday night.

Moore gives Devils 4-3 overtime win against Wild

By BRIAN HALL
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Devils defenseman John Moore is becoming an overtime specialist for a New Jersey team specializing in big road wins.

Moore scored 52 seconds into overtime and the Devils overcame a late letdown to cap a successful road trip with a 4-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on Monday night.

The seventh-year defenseman has scored two of his three goals in the extra session this season and has five overtime tallies among 28 career goals. Moore came down on the rush and tipped home a cross-ice pass from Adam Henrique for Monday’s game-winner.

“He’s got a real knack for it, so that was nice to see,” New Jersey coach John Hynes said. “When you look at that play he kind of starts to break out and beats his guy up ice. He’s got a real knack for finding a way to score goals in those situations.”

Rookie defenseman Will Butcher scored for the second straight game and Cory Schneider stopped 33 shots for the Devils, who led 3-1 before Minnesota’s Mikael Granlund scored twice in the third period.

“It takes a kick in the butt to get us going sometimes, and we talk about self-preparation all the time,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. “But it was one of those things today. They get two in off us in the beginning, and I think we’ve had a lot in this first 20 games here. We go in spurts, but we don’t go in 60 minutes. Until we learn to go in 60 minutes, we’re not going to go too far.”

Henrique had a goal and two assists, and Steven Santini scored his first goal of the season for New Jersey. The Devils finished a 3-0-1 road trip that included wins over Chicago and Minnesota and an overtime loss at Toronto. New Jersey is 7-2-2 away from home this season.

Nino Niederreiter also scored for the Wild, who have lost two in a row. Granlund’s second goal with the extra attacker and 1:36 left pushed the game into overtime. Devan Dubnyk made 21 saves.

“I feel like we always need to come from behind and all of a sudden we start getting angry, start getting emotions,” Niederreiter said. “The crowd starts getting into it and all of a sudden we get fired up. I think that’s something we’ve got to find in our room to get the emotions going and just be positive with one another and everyone has to pull the same string.”

Minnesota controlled play early and the Devils didn’t have a shot on goal through the first nine minutes. Their first shot came on a clearing attempt from the defensive zone that floated to Dubnyk at the other end of the ice.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game, but our goaltending has been awesome all year and gave us a chance tonight,” Moore said.

The Wild held a 12-3 advantage in shots after one period yet trailed 1-0 after Henrique’s shot in the first was saved by Dubnyk, but the puck ended up sitting in the crease and was punched in by Minnesota defenseman Gustav Olofsson.

Niederreiter tied the game just 1:32 into the second period to extend his goal streak to a career-high four games. He has six goals and three assists in 11 games since returning from a high ankle sprain.

But then Olofsson might have helped New Jersey again. Santini’s shot from the sidewall appeared to hit Olofsson before deflecting past Dubnyk.

NOTES: Minnesota forward Charlie Coyle returned to the lineup after missing 16 games with a broken right leg. Coyle took the spot of Chris Stewart, scratched for the first time this season. Stewart had six goals in the first six games but hasn’t scored since. ... New Jersey forward Pavel Zacha played after being a healthy scratch in four of the previous five games. Stefan Noesen was scratched for the first time in eight games. ... The Wild have five power-play goals in their past three games. They were 2 for 34 over their previous 11 games.

UP NEXT

Devils: Return home against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

Wild: Travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres on Wednesday.

Minnesota gets 4 late goals, rallies past Nashville 6-4

By MIKE COOK
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — For the better part of the past week, the third period has been Jason Zucker’s time to shine.

Zucker scored the go-ahead goal with 2:55 left and the Minnesota Wild scored four goals in less than six minutes in the third to beat the Nashville Predators 6-4 on Thursday night.

Eric Staal and Jared Spurgeon each had a goal and two assists for Minnesota, which won its fourth straight.

On the winner, Mikko Koivu fought off a defenseman into the left corner and centered to Zucker in front. With two defenders nearby, his backhand shot beat Pekka Rinne.

It is his eighth goal in five games dating to Nov. 8 — the last seven coming in the final 20 minutes of a game.

“I honestly don’t know,” he said. “For me, I want to make sure that I’m just trying to create chances and get in on pucks and get pucks to the net at any point in the game. I guess they’re just happening to go in in the third period.”

Spurgeon added an empty-net goal. Matt Dumba, Ryan Suter and Nino Niederreiter also scored.

“You can’t be satisfied with playing 30 minutes a game because it’s going to come up and bite you as the season goes along, but I mean they can’t all be Picassos either,” coach Bruce Boudreau said.

Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk entered the game with a franchise-record shutout streak of 195 minutes, 5 seconds. That ended 49 seconds in when Ryan Johansen converted a pass from Filip Forsberg, the first goal allowed by Dubnyk on 108 shots. He finished with 26 saves.

Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm and Viktor Arvidsson also scored for Nashville, which lost for the first time in six games.

“We had a great first period, did a lot of good things and we had to continue playing like that. We let off the gas and you can’t do that in this league,” Johansen said.

Trailing 4-2 in the third, Suter tipped in Spurgeon’s shot after a feed from Staal with 6:56 to go.

Nearly two minutes later, Staal hustled in from the left circle to push a loose puck past Rinne after Marcus Foligno couldn’t handle a centering pass.

“I think sometimes you get a tendency to sit back a little bit when you’re up,” Josi said. “The best way to play defense is to be playing offense if you have the puck. We got to make sure if we’re up, we’ve got to keep playing and go for that next goal.”

Johansen’s goal was his first of the year after signing an eight-year, $64 million contract in July. He added two assists for his first multipoint game since opening night. He has 11 assists in 18 games.

Josi scored 5:31 into the second and Ekholm made it 3-0 seven minutes later after Minnesota didn’t get a shot during a 32-second two-man advantage. With the Wild still up a man, Ekholm intercepted a pass at the Predators’ blue line, went in alone, and beat Dubnyk on the stick side for Nashville’s first short-handed goal of the season.

It was also the first such goal allowed this season by Minnesota.

Niederreiter scored with the extra player with 38.3 seconds left in the second to get the Wild within 3-2, besting Rinne with a slap shot from the slot.

NOTES: Dumba had been the only Minnesota player to appear in every game but not score. ... Nashville recalled G Anders Lindback from AHL Milwaukee and assigned G Juuse Saros to the Admirals. Lindback leads the AHL with eight wins. ... The Wild is starting a stretch where it plays seven games in 12 days.

UP NEXT

Nashville: Starts a three-game homestand Saturday night against Colorado.

Minnesota: Plays at Washington on Saturday night.