Wait for it… #HockeyHugs pic.twitter.com/OJkD59ePeV
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 10, 2015
The Minnesota Wild rallied to score four unanswered goals in the second and third periods and beat the Nashville Predators 4-2, Thursday night in Nashville.
In doing so, the Wild won their 12th consecutive road game, equaling an NHL record set by the 2005-06 Detroit Red Wings. Just as impressive was how the Wild did it – without goalie Devan Dubnyk and the team’s three top goal scorers.
Having clinched a playoff spot on Tuesday, the Wild gave some of their top players the night off in Nashville.
Darcy Kuemper made his first start in net in three months. After a rocky beginning, Kuemper settled down and shut the door on the Predators the rest of the way, making 32 saves.
Yeo on Kuemper: "I'm happy the way our guys played in front of him…some good mental toughness by him." #mnwild
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 10, 2015
Trailing 2-0 in the second period, Jason Zucker put the Wild on the scoreboard with his 20th goal of the season and second goal in as many games. It was the first of two Zucker goals on the night.
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Marco Scandella tied the game at two just 31 seconds later, setting the stage for another Wild rally in the third.
The game remained tied until late, when Jason Pominville put Minnesota on top with a powerful slap shot.
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Zucker then added the empty-netter to put the game away.
The Wild play at St. Louis on Saturday to close the regular season.
Scoring Summary
1st period: 2:58 NSH – Filip Forsberg (35) Slap shot – Assist: None 1-0 NSH
1st period: 10:29 NSH – Seth Jones (8) Snap shot – Assist: Mike Santorelli (21), Craig Smith (21) 2-0 NSH
2nd period: 17:12 MIN PPG – Jason Zucker (20) Wrist shot – Assist: Justin Fontaine (22), Matt Dumba (8) 2-1 NSH
2nd period: 17:43 MIN – Marco Scandella (10) Wrist shot – Assist: Matt Cooke (5), Jordan Schroeder (5) 2-2 Tie
3rd period: 17:57 MIN – Jason Pominville (18) Slap shot – Assist: Jared Spurgeon (16), Mikael Granlund (30) 3-2 MIN
3rd period: 19:00 MIN EN – Zucker (21) Wrist shot – Assist: Chris Stewart (22), Mikko Koivu (34) 4-2 MIN
