Penguins 7, Wild 2
David Perron scored twice and set up another tally as host Pittsburgh erupted for its second-highest goal output of the season.
Chris Kunitz and defensemen Paul Martin and Kris Letang each recorded a goal and an assist while Marcel Goc and Brandon Sutter also tallied as the Penguins beat Minnesota for only the second time in the last eight matchups in Pittsburgh. Captain Sidney Crosby collected three assists, Evgeni Malkin added a pair and Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside 30 shots to earn his first win (1-5-0) against the skidding Wild.
Defenseman Jonas Brodin and Justin Fontaine scored for Minnesota, which tumbled to its sixth consecutive defeat (0-5-1) and lost for the 12th time in 14 games (2-8-4). Niklas Backstrom suffered his seventh straight setback, allowing six goals on 35 shots before giving way to John Curry (one save) late in the third.
The Penguins opened the scoring at 6:16 as Zach Sill slid the rebound of his own shot to Goc, who swatted the puck into an open net, and Perron doubled the lead less than six minutes later by pouncing on another juicy rebound and tucking a backhander around Backstrom. The Wild got on the board 5:12 into the second as Brodin accepted a crossing feed and beat Fleury from the left faceoff dot during a delayed penalty.
Kunitz countered 93 seconds later during a power play, poking home Malkin's redirect attempt, before the Penguins pulled away in the third on a perfectly placed shot from the right circle by Sutter at 5:03 and Martin's backhander that caromed off Wild defenseman Nate Prosser's skate four minutes later. Letang slipped behind the defense for his nine tally at 10:56 before Fontaine's laser beat Fleury
GAME NOTEBOOK: Penguins RW Steve Downie did not return after taking an elbow to the face from Wild D Ryan Suter, who was not penalized on the play. ... Suter, an All-Star selection, was a minus-4 to drop him to minus-22 over his last 20 games. ... Sill collected his first point in his 48th career game. ... Penguins D Olli Maatta reportedly will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, but coach Mike Johnston said "nothing is definitive yet."