In St Paul Saturday, Devan Dubnyk made 44 saves in a 3-0 shut out of the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.
For Chicago, it was their fifth straight loss and left them one game over .500 with a 24-23-8 record.
“Again, I’m running out of words to say,” Chicago’s Jonathan Toews said. “It’s pretty much like the last bunch of games. I think we’re outshooting teams but the quality chances aren’t there, the second efforts aren’t there, the traffic isn’t there. It’s frustrating. It’s simple. We know what we [have to] do, it’s right there in front of us.”
Charlie Coyle struck twice for Minnesota in the win.
“I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win,” Coyle said. “If I get the chance to do it, I’m going to try to put [the puck] in. I’m just going to try to play my game and do what’s necessary for the team.”
The Wild improved to 30-19-6 with the win and stretched their lead over Chicago to 10 points for the second wild card spot in the west.
“Yeah, there’s no getting around it; that was a huge game for us,” Dubnyk said. “Every game is big points-wise, but this was a big opportunity against a team behind us to put them further behind us. We [have to] take these opportunities when we can and that was a good one tonight.”
Mikko Koivu added a single marker for the Wild who scored twice in the opening frame and once in the second period.
“We came out with a lot of energy. Then like we always do [with] a lead … we get cute. We tried to defend it instead of trying to go after it. That’s why our third-period goals against is what it is. … We seem to let our foot off the gas and try to defend that way. We’re going to have to push forward a little bit more,” Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau said after the win.
[WATCH: All Blackhawks vs. Wild highlights]
Jeff Glass made 16 saves in taking the loss.
“It’s an environment that we’re not accustomed to and we’re trying to remain positive,” Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville said. “That’s where we’re at, and I think that’s what we’re dealing with.”
It has been reported recently that the Blackhawks would not be buying this trade season and as the club falls closer to sub-.500 hockey they may end up being sellers this season.
“Well it’s surely getting smaller, we know that. We’re well aware of the situation. As we said all along, we [have to] focus on our job and that’s what we’re [going to] keep doing,” Toews said after the fifth straight loss.
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