Wild 2, Canadiens 1
Darcy Kuemper made 18 saves and Jason Pominville scored the game-winning goal as host Minnesota edged Montreal.
Kuemper came within 58 seconds of his fourth shutout of the season for the Wild, who have points in three straight games (2-0-1). Jason Zucker added a first-period goal in the victory, which improved Minnesota to 1-0-1 on its four-game homestand.
Alex Galchenyuk spoiled Kuemper's shutout bid with a last-minute tally for the Canadiens, who wore No. 4 decals on their helmets in honor of late Montreal legend Jean Beliveau. Carey Price stopped 33 shots in Montreal's fourth loss in five games.
Zucker opened the scoring with a bizarre goal just 19 seconds into the game. Skating unchallenged along the end line, Zucker flipped a shot that glanced off the crossbar, caromed off Price's back and fluttered into the net for his fifth tally in seven games.
Pominville extended the lead 12:10 into the second period, redirecting defenseman Christian Folin's point shot on a play that was upheld after a lengthy video review. Galchenyuk finally put Montreal on the board with 58 seconds left in the third, blasting a point-blank shot into a partially open net after receiving a pass from David Desharnais.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Beliveau passed away Tuesday at age 83. The Hall-of-Famer won the Stanley Cup a whopping 17 times as a player and coach - the most in hockey history. ... Montreal has scored first in just nine of its 27 games this season and fell to 8-8-2 when allowing the first goal. ... Galchenyuk's tally ended a personal 10-game goalless drought.