NHL - Wild - Round Up - February 10-14, 2017

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Wild 1-2 SO - Friday, February 10, 2017

Devan Dubnyk got his 30th win of the season for the Minnesota Wild, 2-1 in a shootout against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Xcel Energy Center. Dubnyk made 26 saves and is 30-9-3 this season. He leads the NHL in wins and is tied for second in save percentage (.934) and goals-against average (1.96). Wild center Mikko Koivu scored the only goal of the shootout. It was the second consecutive overtime game for Minnesota (36-12-6); it lost to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 37 saves for the Lightning (24-24-7). Nino Niederreiter scored with 11 seconds left on a power play to put Minnesota up 1-0 at 14:31 of the second period. Niederreiter has three goals and two assists in the past three games, and 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in the past 15. It was Minnesota's first power-play goal since before the NHL All-Star break (Jan. 26). Tampa Bay tied the game 1-1 at 17:16 of the second when Brayden Point deflected a shot past Dubnyk. The Lightning, 5-9-3 in their past 17 games and 2-6-4 in their past 12 on the road, began a four-game trip. The Wild, 12-3-1 in their past 16 games, are 5-3-1 in their past nine home games (18-6-1 this season). Minnesota leads the Central Division, five points ahead of the Blackhawks with two games in hand.

* Koivu deked Vasilevskiy before lifting a backhand for the shootout goal.

* At the end of overtime, Vasilevskiy sprawled for a glove save on Granlund's backhand.

* Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman laid out for a blocked shot with 1:32 left in the second period to stop a scoring chance by Koivu.
* Point deflected a shot by Jason Garrison to tie the game.
* Lightning assistant Rick Bowness set a record for most NHL games coached (as coach or assistant) with 2,165, passing Scott Bowman. Bowness is in his fourth season with Tampa Bay and has coached with the Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes and Winnipeg Jets. ... Pominville assisted on Niederreiter's goal, extending his point streak to four games. Pominville leads the NHL with 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) since Jan. 19 and has at least one point in 11 of the past 13 games.

"[The wins], that's the most important [stat], definitely. That's the one you want to be on the top of, and that's certainly a race I'll pay attention to more than the other stats. But, it's fun. It's been a great season so far, that way, with the feeling in the dressing room, with how much we've enjoyed this [winning] and don't want it to stop." Dubnyk said.
"Their goalie's really good. It's a really good hockey team there, and I think they do a good job in the neutral zone. They're in your face all the time, so it was a hard game. They play fast. We had to work, it was tough." Zach Parise
"I thought it felt like a playoff game from the start. They're a really good team. They're missing some guys. They've been there before. They're in their sense of urgency right now. They're playing really well." Bruce Boudreau.
 

Detroit Red Wings @ Wild 3-6 - Sunday, February 12 2017

The Minnesota Wild scored three power-play goals, and Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves in a 6-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild (37-12-6) have scored four power-play goals in the past two games and entered Sunday second in the NHL with a 27.5 power-play percentage at home.
The Red Wings (22-24-10) lost their fourth consecutive game (0-3-1). Henrik Zetterberg, Anthony Mantha and Andreas Anthanasiou scored, and Jared Coreau made 24 saves. With seven seconds left on the power play, Wild forward Mikael Granlund scored on a rebound at 13:01 of the first period to make it 1-0. After Gustav Nyquist received a double minor for high sticking on Jared Spurgeon at 14:13, Minnesota forward Nino Niederreiter scored on a second Wild power play at 15:47 to make it 2-0. Mantha made it 2-1 at 6:56 of the second period.

Charlie Coyle scored at 14:14 to make it 3-1 but Zetterberg brought it back within one 1:25 later. Zach Parise scored on a wide-open net at 3:59 of the third period to give the Wild a 4-2 lead. Athanasiou scored 35 seconds later to cut the lead to 4-3. Christian Folin increased Minnesota's lead to 5-3 at 7:20. Parise scored his second of the game on the power play at 10:47 to make it 6-3.

* Parise knocked the puck out of mid-air and finished the play off for the goal.

* Coreau dove over to stop a wrist shot by Wild forward Eric Staal at 10:47 of the third period.

* Koivu sailed a pass through traffic to Niederreiter for the primary assist. He also got an assist on Granlund's goal. The Wild captain is four points away from 600 in his NHL career and has 34 points in the past 37 games.

* Coyle beat Red Wings defenseman Nick Jensen for a breakaway goal. It was Coyle's first goal in 16 games, since Jan. 7.

* Red Wings forward Thomas Vanek did not play after injuring his ankle in a 2-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. "He's day to day but I don't know what that means," coach Jeff Blashill said. "It could mean he could play Wednesday; it could mean he's not available for two weeks. I really don't know…We're hoping he's available on Wednesday." Zetterberg has nine points (four goals, five assists) in the past eight games. … Wild defenseman Matt Dumba missed the game with a lower-body injury sustained in a 2-1 shootout win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday. Boudreau said Dumba is hoping to skate in the next day or two. Granlund has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in the past 16 games and has 50 points for the first time in his career. Niederreiter leads the Wild with 19 goals this season, and has 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in the past 16 games. Wild forward Jason Pominville has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in a five-game point streak. He has at least one point in 15 of the past 18 games, totaling 21 points (five goals, 16 assists). Minnesota defenseman Gustav Olofsson had two assists for his first points in the NHL.

"Well, winning breeds [confidence]. If you're losing and you're in the same situation, you're usually so worried like, 'Here we go again. They're going to tie it up.' When you're winning, you're sitting there saying, 'OK we're going to find a way to keep this going. We weren't very good for the most part tonight. That was the mental toughness that we have to have if we want to be successful." Bruce Boudreau said.
"I don't think we played to our capability. A few goals that we've got to look at and correct and fix at practice tomorrow. But it didn't feel like a 6-3 game. We pulled it out. That's all that matters." Charlie Coyle

Anaheim Sucks @ Wild 1-0 - Tuesday, February 14, 2017
John Gibson made 37 saves and Joseph Cramarossa scored for the Anaheim Ducks in a 1-0 win against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Cramarossa scored at 4:38 of the first period. The Ducks (30-18-10) went 2-3-1 on a season-long, six-game, 12-day road trip and, with 70 points, are three points behind the San Jose Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division. The Wild (37-13-6) were shut out for the third time this season, the first since a 1-0 loss to the Calgary Flames on Nov. 15. Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves. Minnesota played the fourth of an eight-game homestand, the longest in its history, and is 19-7-1 at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games and 13-4-1 in their past 18.

* Ducks forward Corey Perry took a shot off the side wall and Cramarossa scored on the rebound.

* Gibson denied Wild forward Zach Parise of a rebound chance at 8:11 of the first period.

* Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm helped Gibson clear the crease and deprive Minnesota defenseman Jared Spurgeon of a wide-open shot at 8:23 of the first. Lindholm also had two hits and three blocked shots.
* Gibson made a sprawling save on Wild forward Eric Staal at 10:49 of the second period.
* Ducks forward Antoine Vermette was given a game misconduct at 7:33 of the third period for abuse of an official. "To me, these are things that the League reviews," Carlyle said. "We have a view on it, they have a view on it. Whatever they decide we have to live with. Obviously the puck was dropped when our player was not ready. … It looked like as if he was tapping him and just telling him a blow-the-whistle type of thing. It wasn't really a vicious or any type of malice thing. He wasn't trying to hurt anybody. It was more of a tap to blow the whistle type thing. He touched the official. So what are you going to do?" … Lindholm's assist tied Ruslan Salei (105) for eighth on the club's all-time points list for defensemen. Lindholm has four points (one goal, three assists) in the past three games.

"You're never happy when you lose. We're not happy. It was a valiant effort by our guys, but at the same time we didn't succeed in what we were trying to do."
"We tried. We can't win 'em all … I don't want to let it go. At the same time, I don't want to start the riot act because we lost the game. Let's strap our boots back on and see what we do. I don't know what the plan is yet as far as practice. We will figure it out and then we'll be ready for Dallas." Bruce Boudreau said.