Montreal Canadiens vs Minnesota Wild
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 12, 2017
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, Sportsnet, RDS (Montreal)
PREDICTION: Wild 3, Canadiens 1

Oddsmakers currently have the MONTREAL listed as 130-moneyline favorites versus the MINNESOTA, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Montreal Canadiens scored seven times in beating the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday and are fifth in the league in goals per game. The Minnesota Wild are just ahead, fourth in the league with 3.13 goals per game.

The two teams will likely have a hard time finding the back of the net as they meet Thursday in Minnesota.

The Wild, coming off a West Coast swing in which they went 2-0-1, will likely have goaltender Devan Dubnyk between the pipes for a matchup with Montreal’s Carey Price.

Price is considered by many as the top goaltender in the NHL, and he backs up the talk with a 2.12 goals-against average (sixth in the league) and .928 save percentage (fifth). Dubnyk, however, holds the statistical advantage this season with league-bests 1.80 goals-against average and .939 save percentage.

Dubnyk was named to his second straight All-Star Game on Tuesday and he’s won 12 of his past 13 games as Minnesota has climbed to within four points of Central-leading Chicago.

“You don’t do that for 82 games ever,” Dubnyk told the Minneapolis Star Tribune of his first 27 starts. “There’s always going to be some lulls. And fortunately, two of the three (tough starts in the past four games) we were able to score five and six goals, so we’ll take those.

“But, it’s nice to get out there and remember what it feels like to give up one, and not four.”

Dubnyk had not allowed four goals all season until Dec. 29 against the Islanders. But he gave up four goals in three straight games before allowing just one against the Anaheim Ducks s Minnesota finished its strong West coast swing. The Wild still won two of the three games in which Dubnyk allowed four goals.

“This is, if not the toughest, for sure, one of the toughest trips every year,” Minnesota center Mikko Koivu told the Star Tribune. “All three teams, they play hard, they play good two-way hockey.”

Strong two-way hockey has defined the Wild and Canadiens.

Minnesota has the fourth-most goals per game and is allowing the second fewest per game (2.13). The Canadiens are fifth in scoring at 3.12 goals per game and fifth in the fewest allowed (2.38).

In the first game of the back-to-back, Montreal got two goals each from Phillip Danault and Artturi Lehkonen. Danault scored a highlight-reel goal in skating the length of the ice and weaving between four defenders before scoring with a quick shot.

“You don’t see those types of goals very often in the NHL,” coach Michel Therrien told NHL.com. “For the young kid, it’s good for his confidence. He’s playing really well. There’s a reason we put him out there. He was always a good skater, he can move the puck and protect the puck well and he’s responsible at both sides of the ice.”

Danault has stepped up as the No. 1 center with the Canadiens deal with a glut of injuries. Montreal is playing without forwards Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, David Desharnais and Andrew Shaw, and defenseman Andrei Markov.

“For us, I’ll say that we want to play our game,” Therrien told NHL.com after Wednesday’s game. “We want to play a fast-paced game and we want to dictate from the start and move on from our last game (a 4-1 home loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday). And this is what we did. First shift set the tone of the game and we went from there.”

Al Montoya earned the win in net on Wednesday with 23 saves, setting up the Price-Dubnyk matchup.

It will be the second time the two teams, and goalies, will meet. The Wild won 4-2 in Montreal on Dec. 22 as Eric Staal scored a shorthanded goal.

Coincidentally, Montoya is 5-0 against Minnesota with six goals allowed, while Price is 4-4 in his career against the Wild with a 2.51 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in eight starts.

Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau, with three days off since beating Anaheim, gave his older players Wednesday off.

“I thought (Tuesday’s practice) was a real good day,” Boudreau told the Star Tribune, “and (today) was sort of an experiment. I don’t know how it’s going to work or if it’s not going to work. But with all the games that we’ve got now, … so we wanted to give a couple of our older players and/or guys that get a lot of ice time a little bit of a break today and see how it works out for (Thursday’s) game and whether it’s something we’ll continue to do.”

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St. Louis Blues vs. Minnesota Wild
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 11, 2016
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota

TV: 6 p.m. ET, FSN Midwest (St. Louis), FSN Wisconsin, FSN North-Plus (Minnesota)
PREDICTION: Wild 2, Blues 1

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — If there’s kryptonite that affects Minnesota Wild star goaltender Devan Dubnyk, it might be in the form of the St. Louis Blues.

On Sunday afternoon, Dubnyk and the Wild get their third crack at the Blues this season and are still looking for their first win. Dubnyk is the hottest goalie in the league of late, leading the NHL in all major statistical categories. But in 17 career starts against the Blues, he is 4-11-2 with a 3.58 goals-against average and .883 save percentage.

The Blues come to Minnesota with a 3-1-1 record in December and in the midst of a four-game road trip. They are coming off a 4-1 victory in New Jersey on Friday night which saw defenseman Brad Hunt make his season debut for St. Louis.

Hunt was leading the AHL offensively with 29 points in 23 games. He’s likely to stick with the Blues until they get healthier, with defensemen Carl Gunnarson missing the last game with a lower-body injury, and Robert Bortuzzo expected to miss the next six weeks with the same ailment.

The knock on Hunt is his size, but at 5-9, 185 pounds, the Blues hierarchy said he compares favorably to one of the Minnesota blueliners he will face on Sunday.

“He’s taller than (Minnesota’s Jared) Spurgeon, and everybody in our league would like Jared,” Blue coach Ken Hitchcock said after the New Jersey game, praising his team for their physical play. “We played the game that we’re capable of and we had everybody dug in, playing the same way and we scored goals. The harder we check as a team, the more we score.”

The Blues’ three-goal final margin versus the Devils would be a noteworthy cushion for the Wild, who have played six consecutive one-goal games.

“All the games are like this. How many times have we had more than a one-goal game? I don’t remember,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said after his team eked out a 3-2 shootout victory over Edmonton on Friday.

While he’d certainly like his team to find more breathing room, Boudreau likes the demeanor in stressful situations that his team is learning in his first season in Minnesota.

“But if anything, it teaches you how to be calm in a one-goal game, whether you’re up a goal or down a goal, whether you’re pushing or protecting,” Boudreau said. “So, I mean, I think it’s good experience and good help for everyone.”

While the Blues are dealing with a banged-up blue line, Minnesota looks to be getting healthier. They’ve played six games without Christian Folin, who is dealing with a lower-body injury. Folin, though, began skating in practice and participated in warm-ups prior to the Edmonton game. It’s a good bet he will be back on the ice to face the Blues.

It will also mark Mike Yeo’s return to Xcel Energy Center for the first time since the Wild fired him last February. Yeo was Minnesota’s coach for four full seasons, and is now Hitchcock’s top assistant in St. Louis.

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Minnesota Wild vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), Sportsnet
PREDICTION: Maple Leafs 5, Wild 3

Oddsmakers currently have the Wild listed as 105-moneyline favorites versus the Maple Leafs, while the game’s total is sitting at 5½.

TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs return home from a three-game road trip on Wednesday at the Air Canada Centre when they face the Minnesota Wild, who will be wrapping up a five-game trip of their own.

Toronto finished its trip 1-1-1 and Minnesota is 1-1-2 on its tour. Both teams defeated the Edmonton Oilers on their trips.

The Maple Leafs (10-9-5) have been at their best at home (8-3-0) and Wild coach Bruce Boudreau, who was born in Toronto and once played with the Leafs, has noticed.

“I’ve watched their home games, and when they’re on, you’d better be ready to play,” Boudreau said Tuesday. “They’re going to be very good, very soon. It’s not going to take too long for these guys to be extremely good.”

The Wild (12-8-4) has held its own in road games, going 5-5-4. When the trip ends Wednesday the Wild will have played five more games on the road than at home.

Boudreau does not want his team to suffer a letdown in its last game of a long trip.

“I hope it doesn’t happen in this city,” he said. “I have enough trouble winning in Toronto (4-5-3 as a coach and 0-3-1 in the past four visits) when I come, so I hope we’re ready to play. We’re coming off a pretty good win in Edmonton (2-1 in overtime on Sunday) and we’d like to continue this because then we’ll have a good stretch at home.”

The key for the Wild is the goaltender of Devan Dubnyk, who leads the NHL with a save percentage of .945 and in shutouts with four and is second in goals-against average at 1.63.

“He has given us a chance every night,” Boudreau said. “He’s been spectacular.”

The Maple Leafs are pleased with their starting goaltender, Frederik Andersen, who played for Boudreau with the Anaheim Ducks, but are searching for a reliable backup.

They have taken a step in this direction by clearing goaltender Jhonas Enroth through waivers and assigning him to the Marlies of the AHL.

Called up from the Marlies was up 22-year-old prospect Antoine Bibeau, who will back up Anderson on Wednesday.

The long-term solution appears to be Karri Ramo, the former Calgary Flames goaltender, who has been cleared to play after recovering from a knee injury and has signed a tryout contract with the Marlies.

Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock would like to be able to give Andersen more games off than Enroth enabled him to get with his lack of performance.

“I think we’ve given (Andersen) a pretty good workload at this point,” Babcock said. “He’s played 21 games. We’d like the backup to play 20 games.”

The highest number of games in which Andersen has played in one season is 54 in 2014-15.

“I remember playing up to about 20 games straight,” Andersen said. “That was a good learning curve, playing every night and getting used to that workload both mentally and physically. There are so many different mindsets — playing every night, playing now and then. You’ve got to be able to switch your mindset every night and be ready for every shot.”

Andersen struggled in his first few games of this season and had some sympathy for Enroth, who lost his job after four starts.

“I didn’t get in a groove for my first four or five starts,” Andersen said. “For him, it was tough. But you have to make the best of it. He’s a good guy to have around.”

With the Marlies, Bibeau is 6-5-5 with a 2.54 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.

Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri did not skate with the team Tuesday because he was ill. Center Peter Holland was not at the workout either as he awaits a trade.

Minnesota has reassigned right winger Zack Mitchell and defenseman Gustav Olofsson to the Iowa Wild of the AHL.

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Minnesota 0 2 0 0-3

First Period-None.

Second Period-1, Minnesota, Dumba 5 (Granlund), :52. 2, Minnesota, Dumba 6 (Stewart, Granlund), 8:05. 3, Ottawa, Zibanejad 16 (Ryan, Wiercioch), 8:33. 4, Ottawa, Ryan 16 (Hoffman, Karlsson), 11:48.

Third Period-None.

Overtime-None.

Shootout-Ottawa 2 (Ryan G, Zibanejad NG, Turris G, Stone NG, Hoffman NG), Minnesota 3 (Koivu G, Parise NG, Pominville G, Niederreiter NG, Coyle G).

Shots on Goal-Ottawa 10-7-11-5-33. Minnesota 12-13-11-2-38.

Goalies-Ottawa, Hammond. Minnesota, Dubnyk. A-19,054 (17,954). T-2:39.

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When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, October 27, 2014
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), MSG (New York)
PREDICTION: Rangers 4, Wild 1
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Oddsmakers currently have the Rangers listed as 118-moneyline favorites versus the Wild, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.

Carl Hagelin scored his second goal in three games on Saturday and also tallied in New York’s 4-1 victory over Minnesota on Dec. 22. Captain Ryan McDonagh hasn’t found the scoresheet in all but one game this season – a two-assist performance versus New Jersey on Tuesday – but has notched four assists in as many career meetings with Minnesota. Henrik Lundqvist is 3-3-0 versus the Wild, although Cam Talbot stopped 48-of-51 shots to split both contests last season.

New York lost its last outing, a 3-1 result against the Canadiens on October 25. Bettors who backed the Canadiens at -134 on the moneyline won on the day, and the total score (4) sent UNDER bettors to the payout window.

Team record: 4-4-0
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Rangers’s last 7 games at home
NY Rangers is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Minnesota
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of NY Rangers’s last 6 games when playing at home against Minnesota

While Minnesota lit up the scoreboard in its last game, it continues to struggle on the power play. The Wild are 0-for-20 with the man advantage, joining Buffalo (0-for-30) as the only clubs in the league yet to tally on the power play. Minnesota can hang its hat on its penalty kill, which has thwarted all but one of 19 chances this season and faces a New York team that is just 2-for-22 with the man advantage.

In their last action, Minnesota was a 7-2 winner at home against the Lightning. Bettors on Minnesota at -167 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (9) sent OVER bettors home happy as well.

Team record: 4-2-0
Minnesota is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Minnesota’s last 8 games
Minnesota is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota’s last 5 games on the road

The post Minnesota vs. New York Matchup appeared first on IdealCapper.

Chicago is moving on in the postseason for the first time since the championship run in 2010, and will face either San Jose or Detroit if the Red Wings get past Anaheim.

“We knew we hadn’t done it in two years,” Hossa said. “Minnesota, they still have a great team and are missing some players. We found a way. Now we get ready for the next round.”

The way the Blackhawks have dominated, anything less than a trip to the Stanley Cup finals would be a disappointment for them.

They got off to a record start and captured the Presidents’ Trophy for finishing with more points than any other team.

Now, they’re eyeing the biggest prize of all. And after bowing out in the first round the past two years, they sure are looking good.

Hossa scored off a feed from Jonathan Toews late in the first period. Marcus Kruger made it 2-0 with a wraparound early in the second, and Hossa chased the Wild’s Josh Harding when he knocked in a rebound minutes later.

Then, after Torrey Mitchell scored for Minnesota, Chicago’s Andrew Shaw scored against Darcy Kuemper. Patrick Sharp added his fifth goal of the series early in the third period, and that was more than enough for Crawford.

Coming off his second career playoff shutout, he saved 21 shots, and the Blackhawks became the third team to advance in this postseason, along with San Jose and Ottawa. They also bucked a recent trend of early exits for Presidents’ Trophy winners.

The team with the most regular-season points had been eliminated in the first round in three of the previous four years. The Wild were hoping to replicate what the Los Angeles Kings did last year and win the Stanley Cup as the eighth seed, but the Blackhawks simply had too much skill, speed and depth.

The Wild were also short-handed after losing one of their top scorers in Dany Heatley to season-ending left shoulder surgery late in the season. They also had to get by without goalie Niklas Backstrom after he suffered a leg injury in warm-ups before Game 1.

That forced the Wild to go with Harding, who played in just five games during the regular season after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last summer. And he also got banged up in this series. He left Game 4 after a collision with Toews in which his legs got straddled around the left goal post, and he wasn’t sharp in this one, allowing three goals on 18 shots even though he was deemed well enough to start.

Coach Mike Yeo turned to Kuemper after Hossa’s second goal. He also insisted the injury in Game 4 wasn’t a factor in Harding’s performance in this one.

“It wasn’t,” Yeo said. “I don’t want to pin this loss on Josh, either. Credit them and their team.”

There was also a question about Yeo’s job security after this loss. The Wild were widely considered Stanley Cup contenders after they gave free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter identical 13-year, $98 million contracts last summer. But they never quite lived up to expectations.

“I can’t answer that,” Yeo said. “All I can say is if you want to look at it objectively, statistically, if you really want to look at it properly, then there’ve been a lot of improvements in our organization and our team. I feel that we’re going in the right direction.”

For a moment, the Wild looked like they might get back into this one.

Moments after Minnesota’s Jared Spurgeon hit the right post, Mitchell ripped a one-timer past Crawford midway through the second period. But Shaw answered 35 seconds later with his first career playoff goal when he swept the puck in from a bad angle just to the right of the net, making it 4-1.

Crawford, meanwhile, continued to erase doubts about his ability to perform in the postseason. That was a big question coming into this series after he let in several soft goals in last year’s first-round loss to Phoenix. He’s been nothing but solid in this series.

“He’s making saves that he needs to make and he’s making saves that he shouldn’t be making,” Sharp said. “When he does that, it breeds confidence throughout the lineup and it filters through everybody.”

He even had the fans chanting his name at several points. For example, when Crawford stopped a routine shot by Jason Pominville from the wing and scrambled back toward the middle of the net for a neat pad save against Mikko Koivu on the rebound. That foiled another power play by the Wild after they went 0-for-15 in the first four games.

The Blackhawks took a 1-0 lead late in the first period when Hossa took a feed from Toews in the left circle and fired the puck between Harding’s glove and the post. The assist gave Toews his first point of the playoffs.

Kruger made it 2-0 when his wraparound deflected off Harding’s pad and into the net for his first career playoff goal.

Game notes

Blackhawks C Dave Bolland and G Ray Emery remain sidelined by lower body injuries, although coach Joel Quenneville said they’re “real close.” Bolland said it’s 50-50 he would have been able to play if “it was do-or-die” for the Blackhawks, but he expects to be ready in the next round. … Quenneville moved ahead of Mike Keenan and took sole possession of second place on the Blackhawks’ playoff wins list with 34. Billy Reay is the club record-holder with 57 from 1963-77.

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They turned that, just barely, into a critical win over the Los Angeles Kings.

Charlie Coyle and Cal Clutterbuck scored 16 seconds apart late in the first period, helping the Wild break their five-game home losing streak and hang on to beat the Kings 2-1 on Tuesday night.

“I really believe that competitors in games like that find a way to go out and be really good,” Wild coach Mike Yeo said. “And that’s what we had.”

Jeff Carter’s slap shot whizzed past Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom with an improbable 0.8 seconds left before the second intermission, pulling the Kings within one. It was Carter’s 26th goal, tied for third in the NHL. Then as the Kings created some late energy, Slava Voynov’s shot from the far edge of the right circle was stopped by a sprawling Backstrom with 11 seconds remaining in the game to preserve the lead.

“You’ve got to play 60 minutes playing a desperate hockey team,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said, adding: “We turned the puck over too much in the first period. Eventually, when you have that much skill on the other side, they’re going to score.”

With a 3-7-1 record in the last 11 games since this month began and that playoff spot still unsecured, the Wild badly needed a victory. After losing their past two games by a combined 10-2 margin, their hold on seventh place in the Western Conference was tenuous with two games left in the regular season after this.

“The bar has been set, and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to bring at least that the next game,” Yeo said.

Clutterbuck snapped an 18-game streak without a goal. Relentless on both ends all night with his new linemate Devin Setoguchi, Clutterbuck raised his arms in celebration after his tight-angle shot sneaked between Kings goalie Jonathan Bernier and the left post. He jumped against the boards, with the Wild ahead 2-0.

“This was probably the biggest game I’ve ever played in for this franchise, so I was excited,” Clutterbuck said.

The Kings failed to get a point for only the third time in their last 15 games. Bernier, in the net for the first time in seven games in relief of Jonathan Quick, made 23 saves. The Kings can’t do better than the fourth seed, but they don’t want to fall to fifth or sixth and lose that home-ice advantage for the first round. San Jose and St. Louis have been right behind all month.

“We didn’t play three periods. We didn’t deserve to win the game,” Kings captain Dustin Brown said.

Brown fired up the Wild with a vicious-looking elbow to the jaw of Jason Pominville in the second period that went without penalty and knocked Pominville on his back. He woozily and slowly skated off the ice with a trainer’s guidance and didn’t return to the bench. Yeo said he had no update on Pominville’s condition and declined to comment on the hit. Brown, who had the puck on his stick at the time, said he was trying to brace himself for a hit from Pominville.

“We’ve seen it on the replay, but I’m sure someone will look at it,” Setoguchi said. “The game’s going fast. From our end, it was right in the head on the face.”

The Wild already without one of their top scorers in Dany Heatley for the remainder of the season. Losing Pominville for any stretch would be a significant setback.

“I think we handled it really well, and that’s something to be focusing on,” said Backstrom, who stopped 22 shots. “Grow on that, that nothing rattles us no matter what happens there.”

Game notes

Kings C Anze Kopitar has his goal-less streak reach 14 straight games. … The Wild’s AHL affiliate, moving to Des Moines, Iowa, next season, will be called, naturally, the Iowa Wild. … Josh Harding was on the active roster as Backstrom’s backup for the first time since early February. Harding was placed on injured reserve after developing complications from the multiple sclerosis medication he’s been taking, and he was returned from a conditioning stint with Houston on Monday. … Bernier’s shutout streak against the Wild ended at 89:06. … Fourth-line enforcer Zenon Konopka returned from a foot injury for the Wild.

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His wife, kids and father-in-law drove down from Buffalo, N.Y., to see Pominville in action against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It was a good night for the former Buffalo Sabres’ captain — he scored a goal and had an assist for his first points for the Wild since his trade last week — in supporting Niklas Backstrom’s 24 saves in a 3-0 Minnesota victory.

“I didn’t really expect them to come down,” said Pominville, acquired with a fourth-round selection in 2014 from Buffalo for goalie Matt Hackett, forward Johan Larsson, a first-rounder in 2013 and a second-rounder in 2014. “I talked to my wife on the phone and everything seemed normal. It was a nice surprise to see her and the kids before the game.”

The win was a big one for the Wild, who snapped a three-game losing streak that included their first shutout loss of the season in their last game.

“You can’t avoid it: Everyone is talking about (the playoffs),” Backstrom said after his second shutout of the season and 28th of his career. “But for us it’s still one day at a time, one game at a time.”

Ryan Suter’s wrist shot in traffic started the scoring, and Charlie Coyle benefited from a perfect pass from Mikael Granlund as the Wild netted two power-play goals in the second period.

Backstrom and his staunch defense did the rest until Pominville scored late off a tape-to-tape pass from Zach Parise.

“What you saw tonight is what our game is supposed to look like,” Wild coach Mike Yeo said. “I really liked a lot of players tonight. I thought everybody was on top of their game.”

It was a turnaround win for Minnesota, which had also lost four of five since a seven-game winning streak. The Wild scored only three goals in the three-game skid.

“Our last couple of games weren’t what we wanted and it’s nice to kind of get back on track, regroup and get things going again,” Coyle said.

The Wild came in ranked eighth in the NHL in road power plays. After a scoreless first period, the Wild made the most of a hooking penalty on Blake Comeau, who was playing his first home game for the Blue Jackets after being acquired from Calgary for a fifth-round pick.

Suter took a drop pass from Pominville, and Suter tucked a hard wrister from the high slot inside the far post through heavy congestion. It was the fourth goal of the season for Suter, a big-ticket free agent last summer.

Columbus’ Vinny Prospal was called for hooking later in the period, and the Wild cycled the puck while the Blue Jackets tried in vain to clear it.

Granlund slid a backdoor pass from the right wing to Coyle, who had slipped to the left doorstep for a jam shot that made it 2-0 at 15:03.

This defeat was extremely costly to Columbus, which is four points behind eighth-place Detroit in the West.

Now the Blue Jackets have little wiggle room with just nine games remaining in the regular season — including six on the road.

“This one definitely hurts,” said defenseman Jack Johnson, who said Columbus might have to win out to make the postseason.

The Blue Jackets came in having earned points in 16 of 19 games (11-3-5) and riding a four-game winning streak at home. Since their previous regulation home loss on March 7, they had gone 9-0-3 at Nationwide Arena.

“It’s a blow,” coach Todd Richards said of the loss that opened a three-game homestand. “We know what’s ahead of us. The players have talked, we have talked, about the importance of these home games. We lacked energy in the second period. We picked it up in the third, but we still didn’t do enough.”

Marian Gaborik, acquired by the Blue Jackets in a multiplayer deal with the New York Rangers at Wednesday’s trade deadline, was greeted by several signs in the crowd as he made his debut at home.

“We have to stay positive,” Gaborik said. “We have nine games left. We’ll do everything we can to be in the hunt.”

Backstrom was solid when needed. The Wild killed off four penalties, although Backstrom was at his best on even-strength threats. He gloved a hard one-timer by Jack Johnson midway through the first, stymied R.J. Umberger on a rush in the third, and turned aside Cam Atkinson’s blast in transition in the final minutes.

“What can you say about Backie?” Yeo said. “That was a good response by him. That’s what he does.”

Game notes

Columbus D James Wisniewski caught a skate to the leg in the second period and made it to the bench with some difficulty. He returned in the third. … Minnesota, which solidified its playoff spot heading into the final three weeks, ended a streak of five games in which it had allowed the first goal. … Sergei Bobrovsky had 21 saves for the Blue Jackets. … The Wild have 10 games remaining, including six at home.

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Devin Setoguchi had two goals, Niklas Backstrom made 36 saves and the streaking Wild beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 on Wednesday night.

“I give our guys a lot of credit. … I felt tired today,” said Minnesota coach Mike Yeo, whose team won in Colorado on Saturday night and in Vancouver on Monday night.

Kyle Brodziak, and Mikko Koivu also scored for Minnesota, which won its fourth straight. Pierre-Marc Bouchard had two assists.

“They’re going to get their shots,” Backstrom said. “We did a great job of keeping them to the outside and we did a good job of clearing rebounds.”

Gustav Nyquist and Drew Miller scored for Detroit.

“We spent a lot of the night chasing the game,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “We knew what kind of game it was going to be before we started. We knew they were going to play tight.”

Minnesota led 1-0 after the first period despite being outshot 17-5.

“We knew we were going to come out a little sluggish,” Wild defenseman Ryan Suter said. “Backy kept us in it and we came out in the second period and played the way we should’ve.”

Setoguchi opened the scoring 2:04 into the game when he swept in a shot from the bottom of the right circle for his 10th goal. Setoguchi’s second goal of the game came on the power play with 2:45 left in the second period, putting in a rebound to give Minnesota a 4-1 lead.

Brodziak’s power-play goal 3:51 into the second period made it 2-0 when he put in a one-timer shot from the edge of the crease, his fifth goal, off a pass from Jared Spurgeon.

Nyquist put Detroit on the scoreboard 9:09 into the middle period with his first goal. He capitalized on Spurgeon’s turnover at the Red Wings’ blue line for his first goal of the season, on a breakaway.

“It was a broken play at the blue line, I don’t know what happened,” Nyquist said. “I got it behind the D man and I came skating in all alone. I tried to make a move and fortunately, it went in.”

Koivu restored the Wild’s two-goal lead with 9:11 left in the second on spin-around shot from the high slot, which went in off Jimmy Howard’s glove for Koivu’s seventh goal.

Setoguchi got his second goal of the night, with 2:45 left in the second by putting in Dany Heatley’s rebound.

“That’s what you need. We’ve just got everybody contributing right now,” Yeo said. “Getting it from the power play, getting it from different lines.”

Miller got his third goal of the season, on the power play, in the final minute to cap the scoring.

An apparent goal by Detroit’s Jordin Tootoo 7:30 into the first period was waved off because of a high stick call. But replays showed the puck went off the glove of Heatley instead of the stick of Miller.

Game notes

Detroit RW Patrick Eaves missed the game with a sore cheekbone. The Red Wings recalled Nyquist, a center, from their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids on Wednesday. … Minnesota C Mike Rupp and D Tom Gilbert both missed their second games with lower-body injuries.

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Known more for his shot, the Minnesota Wild forward clanged a pair of line drives off the goal post, only to have the puck carom straight to teammates and result in two assists for Heatley.

That’s just how things have been going of late for the Wild, who scored a season-high four goals in the first period to beat the slumping Colorado Avalanche 6-4 on Saturday.

Even shots slightly off the mark eventually find their mark.

“I’ll take it,” Heatley said. “We have four lines rolling right now.”

The Wild sure do, with 11 players earning at least a point in this game. Devin Setoguchi led the way with two goals along with adding the 100th assist of his NHL career.

“Anytime you can get that, it’s fun,” Setoguchi said. “More importantly, I got my 100th and we got the win.”

Ryan Suter started a four-goal scoring spree in the first period to help the Wild win for the fourth time in five games. Cal Clutterbuck, Kyle Brodziak and Pierre-Marc Bouchard also added goals.

This was the second half of a home-and-home between the two teams, with Minnesota winning 5-3 on Thursday night.

John Mitchell, P.A. Parenteau, Gabriel Landeskog and Chuck Kobasew had goals for an Avalanche team that has dropped three in a row. Jean-Sebastien Giguere was roughed up in his first home start of the season, allowing four goals on 14 shots before giving way to Semyon Varlamov at the start of the second period.

Niklas Backstrom was solid in net, stopping 28 shots to move to 23-5-3 lifetime against the Avalanche.

Setoguchi all but wrapped up the win with his second goal midway through the third period when he slipped a shot through the pads of Varlamov. It was Setoguchi’s first two-goal game of the season.

“We’ve got such a big, strong team that can skate,” Setoguchi said. “It’s tough to defend.”

Kobasew scored with 1:53 remaining to make it a two-goal game, and the Avalanche pulled Varlamov but couldn’t take advantage of the extra skater.

Colorado worked its way back into the contest in the second period with goals from Parenteau and Landeskog. But the Avalanche made a costly mistake in their zone, when Landeskog tried to send a pass across the middle. Bouchard intercepted the puck and backhanded a shot by Varlamov to make it 5-3.

Landeskog lamented his poor choice after the game.

“Any team is going to capitalize on those chances,” the Avalanche captain said. “It’s deflating, especially because we battled back so hard and got back to 4-3 and then I throw that puck away. It’s frustrating.”

Time is slipping away for the Avalanche as they tumble farther and farther in the standings.

“We’ve got to figure it out here and start to work together,” said Duchene, who had two assists, giving him 10 points in his last five games. “It’s not effort and it’s not talent. We’ve got both of those. I think it’s just concentration. Everyone is so scared to make mistakes.”

The first period featured two fights, three roughing calls and two Wild goals before fans even had a chance to settle into their seats. Suter got Minnesota started on the right note with a shot over Giguere’s left shoulder.

Soon after, Setoguchi scored on a similar shot on a screened Giguere. Clutterbuck and Brodziak also added goals on “passes” from Heatley.

The four goals in the opening 20 minutes brought the day to an end for Giguere. He sat on the bench as Varlamov took his spot in goal.

Minnesota was without forward Jason Zucker for a second straight game. The rookie has what the team is calling an upper-body injury after a violent blindside collision with Corey Perry that brought the Anaheim right winger a four-game suspension.

Zucker is on the trip with the Wild and possibly could play Monday night in Vancouver against the Canucks, a team the Wild are chasing in the Northwest Division race.

“That’s our biggest challenge now,” Clutterbuck said. “I don’t think we expect to score four goals in the first period every game but we expect to play the same way every game.”

Game notes

Wild D Brett Clark was a scratch for a second straight game after being signed for the rest of the season on Thursday. Clark played five-plus seasons for Colorado. … Avs D Ryan Wilson (ankle) was a scratch. … Colorado dropped to 2-1 in day games this season. … Avs F Milan Hejduk was a scratch after returning to the lineup Thursday at Minnesota, his first game back after sitting out five straight with a torso injury.

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