Eric Staal’s third-period goal proved to be the game-winner as the Minnesota Wild defeated Pittsburgh 4-2 in the NHL on Thursday to hand the Penguins their first regulation home loss this season.
Staal had two assists, giving him 51 points in 50 career games against Pittsburgh. Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter also scored for the Wild, who won for the fourth time in six games. Jared Spurgeon added an empty-net goal.
Devan Dubnyk, who made 39 saves, allowed fewer than three goals for the eighth straight game, which includes a streak of three consecutive shutouts.
Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist scored on the power play for Pittsburgh. Crosby has nine goals and 11 points in eight games since returning from a concussion that sidelined him for the first six games of the season.
The San Jose Sharks have won the first two games on a six-game trip after beating the Florida Panthers 4-2.
Tommy Wingels scored the go-ahead goal in the third period.
The Nashville Predators won two in a row, Calle Jarnkrok scored twice, and the St. Louis Blues were beaten 3-1.
Jimmy Howard stopped 36 shots as the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-1. Vancouver has won only one of its last 11 games.
Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg, matched against Canucks captain and fellow Swede Henrik Sedin for most of the game, had two assists.
Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 4-1.
The Lightning have outscored the Islanders 10-2 in winning the first two games of the season series.
Stamkos has 111 power-play goals with Tampa Bay, one shy of Vincent Lecavalier’s team record. Victor Hedman got his 188th career assist to become the franchise leader for defensemen.
The Montreal Canadiens stayed perfect in nine home games this season after dispatching the Los Angeles Kings 4-1.
Carey Price made 24 saves, and is 19-0-2 in his last 21 starts dating to last season.
Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf had a late assist to pass Teemu Selanne as the franchise leader with 532 as the Ducks beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2.
Jakob Silfverberg scored two second-period goals and added two assists.
The Boston Bruins won for the fifth time in seven games and have scored 11 goals in two wins over Columbus this season after their latest, 5-2 over the Blue Jackets.
Jamie Benn snapped a nine-game scoring drought with two goals, including the game-winner on a third-period power play, as the Dallas Stars beat the Calgary Flames 4-2 to snap a five-game losing streak.
The Stars are 1-1-1 with two stops to go on a five-game trip. Kari Lehtonen made 29 saves to improve to 2-2-4.
Winnipeg beat Arizona 3-2 for its third win in four games.
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