The three-game sweep starts in Glendale where the Arizona Coyotes were brought back to earth by the Minnesota Wild in 403 win for the visitors.
Zach Parise scored his fifth goal of the season.
“We had a really good start to the game, but as the game went on they got a little better and we got a little sloppier,” Parise said.
Devan Dubnyk made 22 saves in the win; it was his first game back Glendale after last year’s trade to Minnesota.
“I forgot about that, kind of on purpose,” Dubnyk said with a smile when asked about the milestone victory. “It’s a big one; that’s a lot of wins and this team has been an important part of that. I’ll remember it and it was nice to get it here where I have good memories. Hopefully there are a lot more to come.”
Thomas Vanek, Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund added markers for the Wild.
“Most of two periods looked like the way we should be playing,” Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said. “It’s nice that we’re (3-0-0), but we’re still short of playing a 60-minute game so far. In the second half of the second period, the focus was a little bit more on scoring the next goal than playing the game the right way. That’s how we built the lead but then we lost our focus.”
Anthony Duclair and Max Domi scored for the Coyotes as well as Michael Stone.
“We showed a lot of character in the third,” said Duclair, who leads all NHL rookies with six points. “Even though we were down, it was the first time this season we faced adversity and the guys didn’t let up.”
In Edmonton, the visiting St Louis Blues kept the Oilers in a hole with a 4-2 win.
Jori Lehtera, Vladimir Tarasenko, Paul Stastny and Alexander Steen scored for St Louis.
“The game in the first period was up for grabs,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “Edmonton was probably a bit more energized, but halfway through the second period, we started to get on the grind and took it over. We did a good job at the end of the second period and a great job the whole third period. They got a little bit of powder off a couple of power plays, but 5-on-5, we really got after them and hemmed them in, in the third.”
Lauri Korpikoski and Taylor Hall potted goals for the Oilers in Connor McDavid’s home debut.
“We have a little bit of a roller-coaster thing going on right now where we get a little bit of momentum, and then the other team will come back and score, and we sag a bit,” Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. “Emotionally, we are up and down quite a bit, and that comes from not winning. When frustration creeps in, then you get away from what you are supposed to be doing.”
The pressure continued on McDavid with a scoreless night and minus-three rating.
In Sunrise, Jaromir Jagr’s two goals paced the Florida a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
“Sometimes the puck goes in, sometimes it doesn’t,” Jagr said. “It doesn’t matter what you do. I learned that over 25 years. Right now the puck is going in, so I’m trying to shoot it.”
Aleksander Barkov had a goal in the win for the Panthers.
Jagr has four goals in four games this season.
“Yeah, if he can get 82 this year, I’d be pretty happy with that,” Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo said. “He keeps getting the job done. It’s fun to watch. The team has confidence in him and that gives him confidence and rejuvenates him a little bit. We’ll keep him going as long as we can.”
The Panthers are running on all fronts with the offense in step with the defense. Florida has allowed just five goals in their four games so far.
“If you look at it last year, we were so close and we didn’t have a great start to the season,” Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. “Every point is important. Every game is important. So far they’ve been really good. They’re coming to work and they’re coming to compete. We’re off to a good start, but it’s four games and we’ve got to keep doing it.”
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