ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Through two periods Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center, the Minnesota Wild outplayed the visiting Montreal Canadiens in just about every facet. The result was a two-goal lead heading into the third period.
That's where things got dicey for the Wild.
Despite struggling on the power play and getting outshot in the final period, Minnesota hung on for a 2-1 win against a Canadiens squad that Wild forward Zach Parise called the best team in the Eastern Conference.
"One thing we said this morning is that this was not going to be a picture-perfect game," said Wild head coach Mike Yeo. "For one, we're playing a very good team and, for two, the absence of (Ryan Suter), we knew that was going to be felt."
There were some tense moments for the Wild after goals by Jason Zucker and Jason Pominville put Minnesota up 2-0 after two periods. Zucker scored just 19 seconds into the game on a goal that bounced off Montreal goalie Carey Price's back and in, and Pominville redirected a shot by Christian Folin for the 2-0 lead.
The Wild held a 30-10 advantage in shots on goal through two periods, holding Montreal to a mere four shots in the second period. And Minnesota did that without Suter, the team's top defenseman who missed his first-ever game with the Wild -- snapping a streak of 153 games. Instead, it was defensemen Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin picking up the slack in Suter's absence, helping clamp down defensively for Minnesota.
"Everyone knows how tough a guy to replace Ryan is with all the minutes he plays and situations he plays. They did an unbelievable job," Parise said. "Against that team, you give them 10 shots or nine shots after two periods, they did a good job of retrieving the puck and getting out of our zone quickly and making a good first pass. All those guys, they all played really well."
Minnesota saw a different Canadiens team come out for the third period. Montreal held the puck in the Wild's zone for around a minute early in the third, putting pressure on Minnesota goalie Darcy Kuemper for really the first time all night. Kuemper made a save to finally stop the action in the Wild's end of the rink, but the Canadiens weren't done.
After Montreal forward Eric Tangradi was whistled for a five-minute boarding major and a game misconduct after hitting Folin into the board -- Folin wound up bloodied from the play -- the Wild had a chance to push their lead to three. Instead, Minnesota didn't manage a single shot on goal during the five-minute power play as the Wild's woes with the man-advantage continued.
Minnesota fans at Xcel Energy Center booed their team as the Wild came up empty on yet another power play. It ultimately didn't matter since Minnesota won the game to improve to 14-9-1, but the problem would have been magnified even more had Montreal come back to win.
"It's up to me to figure out how to deal with it, and it's up to me to correct it," Yeo said about the power play. "This is something that is not easy for our players to deal with right now. The fact of the matter is we win a big game against a good team without (Suter) and we did a lot of good things and you almost kind of leave the game not feeling great about it."
Montreal finally did get on the board with 58 seconds remaining when Alex Galchenyuk scored after the Canadiens pulled Price for an extra skater. But after two lackluster periods, a late push in the third wasn't enough for Montreal.
"The only good hockey we played was in the third period there, and there's no excuse," said Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty. "We played like we did in the third and that's when we have a chance to win the game, but we gave away two periods and that's giving away the game."
Yeo and the Wild knew it might not be a pretty game, and neither of Minnesota's goals -- a puck off the goalie's back and an accidental deflection -- were picturesque. The third period wasn't ideal, either, but the Wild found a way to win.
"We did some good things. You expected a push. They came out actually really good in the third," Pominville said. "They did come hard, but we kept our composure and found a way."
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