Minnesota 2, Pittsburgh 1
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 28, 2017
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees:
Jake Brenk, Kyle Rehman
Linesmen:
Lonnie Cameron, Trent Knorr
Attendance:
19064
By The Sports Xchange
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- It's taken a few weeks, but the Minnesota Wild are getting healthier, and say they're starting to play the way they should.
Captain Mikko Koivu's re-direction of a Mike Reilly feed 9:03 into the third period held up as the difference maker, lifting Minnesota to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
Reilly zipped a pass across the offensive zone to Koivu, who tipped the puck low between the knees of Penguins goaltender Matt Murray.
The Wild have won two in a row for their first winning streak of the season. Minnesota (4-3-2) also got a Daniel Winnik goal and Devan Dubnyk had 29 saves as the Wild have won three straight over Pittsburgh.
"We haven't played the way we're capable until probably the last two games," Dubnyk said. "It's been a strange start to the season, but if you look at the last stretch of games here we're really starting to see the way we need to play to win and it's happening."
Evgeni Malkin scored on the power play for the Penguins (7-4-1), who got 27 saves from Murray as the goaltender had his seven-game winning streak snapped in the opener of a five-game road trip. It was Pittsburgh's third consecutive 2-1 game. The Penguins won the first two in overtime.
Pittsburgh's recent lack of five-on-five scoring is a growing concern.
"It's not any one thing. There's no magic bullet to scoring goals five-on-five, but this team I know has the ability to score goals five-on-five because they've done it for a long time," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "And that's where our game has to improve right now. Special teams for the most part have been pretty solid and we got another power-play goal tonight. Our penalty kill did a pretty good job. Our overall five-on-five game has to improve."
The Penguins, who have a power-play goal in all seven of their road games this season, opened the scoring with the man advantage when a shot by Malkin first hit the stick of Wild right winger Luke Kunin, then deflected off the stick blade of defenseman Kyle Quincey and slid into the net.
Minnesota's fourth line answered less than two minutes later. Murray stopped a long-range shot by former Penguin Matt Cullen, but Winnik crashed the net and steered the loose puck around the prone goalie for a 1-1 tie.
"They played good. It's not dirty but they play tight one-on-one," Malkin said. "It's hard to play against a good defensive (team). They played good. If we want to win we have to play a little bit better. It doesn't matter if we play against Minnesota or a different team ... we just need to play better."
The Penguins held a 14-13 edge in shots after one period. Each team had six shots on goal in the scoreless second.
Pittsburgh nearly took the lead early in the third period when Bryan Rust left the penalty box and caught a long pass from Sidney Crosby for a breakaway, only to clank the left post with a shot.
"The most important thing to me is getting the two in a row and getting over .500 albeit it's only one game," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said of his team's recent mastery of the defending Stanley Cup champions. "We have to start somewhere. It was playing Pittsburgh last year that started us to play like we're capable of playing on a nightly basis. It was a much-needed win."
NOTES: Wild C Matt Cullen received his 2017 Stanley Cup ring from the Penguins prior to the team's morning skate Saturday. Cullen spent the previous two seasons with Pittsburgh before signing as a free agent in Minnesota over the summer. ... University of Minnesota assistant coach Mike Guentzel was allowed to wear an earpiece during Saturday night's Gophers home game versus Clarkson in Minneapolis so he could follow his son, Penguins LW Jake Guentzel, in action in St. Paul. ... Wild LW Jason Zucker made it to the team's morning skate despite not getting much sleep the night before. Jason and wife Carly welcomed their son Hendrix Scott, who was born Friday.
Top Game Performances
| Pittsburgh |
|
Minnesota |
|
Evgeni Malkin 1 |
Points |
Mikko Koivu 1 |
|
Evgeni Malkin 1 |
Goals |
Mikko Koivu 1 |
|
Phil Kessel 1 |
Assists |
Matt Cullen 1 |
|
Evgeni Malkin 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Matthew Murray .931 |
Save Percentage |
Devan Dubnyk .967 |
|
Matthew Murray 27 |
Saves |
Devan Dubnyk 29 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Pittsburgh
|
30 |
1 |
1-3 |
4-4 |
8 |
31 |
| Minnesota
|
29 |
2 |
0-4 |
2-3 |
6 |
25 |
Upcoming Games
-
Minnesota will play their next game at home against Winnipeg. The Wild have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .600 after a loss.
-
Pittsburgh will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Penguins have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .600 after a loss.
For more information, contact us