Thomas Vanek had a goal and an assist to help the Minnesota Wild escape Toronto with a 2-1 victory to keep their nine game road winning streak in tact.
FINAL: #MNWild 2, Maple Leafs 1.
The Wild have won a franchise-record nine straight road games entering Long Island tomorrow night.— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) March 24, 2015
It was a big win for the Wild, who kept their hold on the top wildcard spot in the Western Conference’s playoff race. With the victory the Wild now have 89 points.
Charlie Coyle put the Wild on the scoreboard late in the first period. His 11th goal of the season made the score 1-0. Coyle was assisted by Vanek on the goal.
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The score stayed that way most of the night, but midway through the third Vanek gave Minnesota some breathing room with his 19th goal of the season, to make it 2-0.
Toronto created a few nervous moments late after Jake Gardiner cut the Wild lead in half at 2-1.
But Devan Dubnyk was outstanding once again, he stopped 35 shots to secure the victory. It was Dubnyk’s 31st consecutive start in net for Minnesota – tying an NHL record.
The Wild continue their road trip against the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
Scoring Summary
1st period: 18:58 MIN – Charlie Coyle (11) Snap shot – Assist: Thomas Vanek (30) 1-0 MIN
3rd period: 9:08 MIN – Vanek (19) Wrist shot – Assist: Ryan Suter (34), Justin Fontaine (19) 2-0 MIN
3rd period: 13:36 TOR – Jake Gardiner (4) Snap shot – Assist: Joffrey Lupul (11) 2-1 MIN
