ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Matt Dumba scored 39 seconds into overtime to give the Minnesota Wild a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
Dumba started the game-winning rush by picking up a loose puck in his own end. After entering the defensive zone, he fed the puck across the slot to Charlie Coyle, who feathered a return pass that Dumba chipped past Blues goalie Jake Allen for his second goal this season.
Allen made 24 saves for St. Louis, while Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk stopped 41 of 42 shots.
Former Wild head coach Mike Yeo brought his Blues back to Minnesota for the first time since St. Louis eliminated the Wild in five games in the first round of the playoffs last spring. The Blues beat the Wild 6-3 a week ago in their first meeting this season in St. Louis.
Minnesota struck first when Ryan Suter scored a wraparound goal at 4:26 of the first period. Suter tracked down a rebound that had caromed behind the net and banked the puck off Allen’s left skate as he scrambled to get back into position at the left post.
It was the fourth time in five games that the Blues have surrendered a goal in the first 5 minutes.
Marcus Foligno had a golden opportunity to double Minnesota’s lead midway through the second period when he deked a Blues defender and found himself alone in the high slot. His wrist shot hit the post.
St. Louis took advantage about four minutes later, when Patrik Berglund tied the game on the power play. With Dumba in the penalty box for hooking, the Blues put heavy pressure on the Wild net. Dubnyk turned aside a series of shots, tips and rebounds, but Berglund finally beat him with a clean wrist shot from the top of the left circle.
Berglund missed the Blues’ first 24 games while recovering from shoulder surgery. He made his season debut on Wednesday and scored his first goal of the year on Friday against the Kings.
Minnesota had given up just 2 goals in 35 power-play opportunities at home going into the game, the second-best home penalty kill in the NHL. The Wild killed four out of five penalties on Saturday.
NOTES: Minnesota improved its overtime record to 2-3 this year, while the Blues lost for the second time in six overtime decisions. … D Nate Prosser played his first game of the season with Minnesota. The Minnesota native spent the first eight years of his career with the Wild before signing with the Blues in the offseason. St. Louis waived Prosser earlier this week, and the Wild claimed him on Wednesday. … Wild D Jared Spurgeon is expected to miss at least the next four games recovering from a strained groin. … The Blues, who lost to the Kings in St. Louis on Friday night, are now 4-1-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season. … Saturday’s game was the first time this season that St. Louis played a game when it wasn’t leading the Central Division. Winnipeg took over first place on Friday night when it beat Vegas.
UP NEXT
Blues: Play Tuesday at Montreal.
Wild: Play Tuesday at Los Angeles.
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