Wild 3, Red Wings 1
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Power-play and empty-net goals by captain Mikko Koivu late, and a strong night in goal by Devan Dubnyk helped the Minnesota Wild to a 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.
Center Charlie Coyle scored his ninth goal of the season in the first period and Dubnyk had 28 saves for the Wild (19-10-6), who had lost three of their previous four games.
Detroit lost despite a 32-save night in goal by Petr Mrazek. Center Pavel Datsyuk scored the lone goal for the Red Wings (18-11-7). The Wings goalie made several impressive saves throughout, including thwarting Jason Zucker on a third period breakaway when the Wild left winger came in alone from the far blue line.
Minnesota opened the scoring just past the midway point of the first period as Coyle scored for the third time in the past four games. Entering the zone with speed, Coyle made a deceptive stick-handling move around Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith, then launched a rising shot that beat Mrazek on the glove side.
The Wild got another puck past Mrazek a few minutes later, but this one didn't count. The goalie stopped a point-blank attempt by right winger Nino Niederreiter, with the rebound popping up in the air. Wild defenseman Matt Dumba swatted it out of the air and into the net.
After a conference, the officials announced that Dumba had played the puck with a high stick, and replays affirmed their call of no goal.
The second period was scoreless, with Minnesota out-shooting Detroit 10-7 and coming closest to scoring when left winger Thomas Vanek clanked a shot off the goalpost.
Koivu's power play goal made it 2-0 with less than three minutes left, but Datsyuk answered on the next shift with his fourth goal of the season.
Dubnyk, who suffered a cut arm in practice on Sunday, was expected to get the night off. But his backup, Darcy Kuemper, was unexpectedly scratched shortly before warmups with an upper body injury.
NOTES: Detroit rookie C Dylan Larkin returned to the lineup after sitting out the Red Wings' previous game with an upper-body injury. The former University of Michigan star entered the game leading Detroit with 13 goals. ... Minnesota C Ryan Carter missed the Wild's 3-1 home loss on Saturday with a lower body ailment but returned to the lineup Monday. That prompted Minnesota coach Mike Yeo to make RW Justin Fontaine a healthy scratch for the first time this season. ... The Red Wings are in the midst of a three-game road trip, and visit the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. They host the Pittsburgh Penguins on New Year's Eve. Minnesota, which has played six of its past seven games at home, now heads off on a four-game road swing, starting New Year's Eve when the Wild visit the St. Louis Blues.