#mnwild tops Habs 2-1 with goals from @Jason_Zucker16, Pominville, 18 saves from @dkuemps35. Wild hosts Ducks Friday. pic.twitter.com/hh4BHhc3rE
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 4, 2014
The Minnesota Wild controlled the game and beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 Wednesday night at Xcel Energy Center.
Minnesota peppered Montreal goaltender Carey Price with 35 shots on goal.
It didn’t take the Wild long to take the lead against the struggling Canadiens. Jason Zucker lit the lamp just 19 seconds into the game. Zucker’s wrist shot was his tenth goal of the season, he was assisted by Mikko Koivu on the goal.
Minnesota added to the lead in the second period when Jason Pominville netted his fifth goal of the season as he tipped in a shot from the point by Christian Folin. The goal had to be reviewed to see if Pominville tipped it in with a high-stick, but it was allowed to stand.
Pominville on winner: "it was coming for my head, so I ducked. It's funny the way it goes sometimes. Hopefully I can build off that."
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) December 4, 2014
Montreal added a goal in the final minute as Alex Galchenyuk scored his sixth goal of the season, slipping one past Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
Kuemper stopped 18 of the 19 shots he faced.
The biggest concern for the Wild continued to be the struggles of their power play unit. The Wild went scoreless on five power plays Wednesday and failed to manage a shot after a five-minute major penalty assessed to Montreal’s Eric Tangradi.
Fans booed the Wild because of their inefficiency on the power play.
Zach Parise on fans booing the PP: "It doesn't matter. … We beat arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference."
— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) December 4, 2014
The Wild host the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.
Scoring Summary
1st period: :19 MIN – Jason Zucker (10) Wrist shot – Assist: Mikko Koivu (7) 1-0 MIN
2nd period: 12:10 MIN – Jason Pominville (5) Tip-in – Assist: Christian Folin (1), Zach Parise (10) 2-0 MIN
3rd period: 19:02 MTL – Alex Galechenyuk (6) Wrist shot – Assist: David Desharnais (12), P.K. Subban (11) 2-1 MIN
