In Nashville, The Minnesota Wild extended their win streak to 11 games when Jared Spurgeon scored late in overtime to defeat the Predators, 3-2.
“I think in the first period we had some good legs, and then in the second we sort of prolonged some shifts, and that’s where we got caught,” Spurgeon said. “In the third, we just started to get back to getting pucks behind their [defense] and playing simple hockey.”
Zach Parise netted his sixth of the season to stake the Wild to a 1-0 lead and was thrilled by the extension of the streak.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Parise said. “You can tell the excitement after we win in the locker room, the smiles and the way guys are just happy for each other. It’s been a fun string of games, and we feel like we can win all the games. We’re playing with a lot of confidence.”
The game marked Parise’s return to the lineup after missing two games.
“It’s been an adventurous first half of the season, but it’s nice to have a little bit of energy and feel a little bit rested,” Parise said. “I felt good.”
Chris Stewart also scored in regulation for Minnesota.
Filip Forsberg and Reid Boucher scored for Nashville.
The Predators never led in the game and rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 dericits.
“It’s a good character response,” Boucher said. “I don’t think we played that well in the first. Huge penalty kill at the end to get that point, and it’s kind of disappointing that we didn’t get that win.”
WATCH: All Wild vs. Predators highlights
Devan Dubnyk made 28 saves to get the win for Minnesota.
“First of all, I thought he (Spurgeon) was playing well. With his speed, I thought in the overtime if you give him a chance, he might get a breakaway,” Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau said. “As long as he plays within the confines of what we want to do, he’s still going to get opportunities to score. I thought there were a couple guys that from the three-day break and no practice looked like they were struggling with their legs, and that’s one of the reasons I moved him.”
Pekka Rinne was busy in the Preds net with 36 saves.
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