Koivu, Dubnyk help Wild edge Penguins
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Mikko Koivu's re-direction of a Mike Reilly feed 9:03 into the third period held up as the difference maker, lifting the Minnesota Wild to a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
Reilly zipped a pass across the offensive zone to Koivu, who tipped the puck low between the knees of Penguins goalie Matt Murray. The Wild have now won two in a row for their first winning streak of the season. Minnesota (4-3-2) also got a Daniel Winnik goal and Devan Dubnyk had 29 saves as the Wild have now won their last three meetings with Pittsburgh.
Evgeni Malkin scored on the power play for the Penguins (7-4-1), who got 27 saves from Murray in the opener of a five-game road trip. It was Pittsburgh's third consecutive game to end with a 2-1 score. The Penguins had won the first two, in overtime.
The Penguins, who have a power-play goal in all seven of their road games this season, opened the scoring with the man advantage when a shot by Malkin first hit the stick of Wild right winger Luke Kunin, then deflected off the stick blade of defenseman Kyle Quincey and slid into the net.
But Minnesota's fourth line answered less than two minutes later. Murray stopped a long-range shot by former Penguin Matt Cullen, but Winnik crashed the net and steered the loose puck around the prone goalie for a 1-1 tie.
The Penguins held a 14-13 edge in shots after one period. Each team had six shots on goal in the scoreless second.
Pittsburgh nearly took the lead early in the third period when Bryan Rust left the penalty box and caught a long pass from Sidney Crosby for a breakaway, only to clank the left post with a shot.
NOTES: Wild C Matt Cullen received his 2017 Stanley Cup ring from the Penguins prior to the team's morning skate on Saturday. Cullen spent the previous two seasons with Pittsburgh before signing as a free agent in Minnesota over the summer. ... University of Minnesota assistant coach Mike Guentzel was allowed to wear an earpiece during Saturday night's Gophers home game versus Clarkson in Minneapolis so he could follow his son, Penguins LW Jake Guentzel, in action in St. Paul. ... Wild LW Jason Zucker made it to the team's morning skate despite not getting much sleep the night before. Jason and wife Carly welcomed their son Hendrix Scott, who was born on Friday at a Twin Cities hospital.