Wild 4, Predators 0
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Former Nashville defenseman Ryan Suter's three-point night and goaltender Devan Dubnyk's 23 saves led the Minnesota Wild to a 4-0 win over the Predators on Saturday night at the Xcel Energy Center.
With a goal and two assists, Suter leads the Wild in scoring with 19 points and has 13 points in his last 11 games.
Wild left winger Thomas Vanek and center Mikael Granlund had a goal and an assist each to lift Minnesota's home record to 8-1-0 and avenge its lone loss of the season in St. Paul, a 3-2 Nashville win on Nov. 5.
Nashville, which lost 4-0 on Friday night in Columbus, are 0-3-1 in back-to-back games this season but arrived in Minnesota unbeaten in regulation in its last five visits (4-0-1).
The Predators' deficit could have been much worse had it not been for goaltender Pekka Rinne, who turned aside several high-percentage Minnesota chances in making 24 saves, including 19 through two periods.
Suter's first-period power-play goal opened the scoring for Minnesota 13:07 into the game, marking the first time in five games the Wild scored the opening goal. Suter wristed a shot from the top of the left circle through Vanek's screen just seconds after Rinne robbed Vanek at the right post.
The goal, Suter's third of the season and first since Oct. 27 that turned out to be the winner, came roughly a minute after Wild right winger Nino Niederreiter's shot at an open net was foiled by the stick blade of Nashville center Mike Fisher.
The Wild extended the lead just 1:44 into the second when Granlund scored his third goal of the year and second in Minnesota's last three games. Wild defenseman Christian Folin's shot from the right faceoff dot caromed off Rinne's right pad deep in the slot directly to Granlund, who had nothing but net in front of him.
Defenseman Jonas Brodin made it 3-0 with a blast from the top of the left circle that beat Rinne at 8:06 of the second. Suter set up the goal with his team-leading 15th assist with help from center Mikko Koivu.
Koivu, the Wild captain, played his 700th game, joining former teammate Nick Schultz as the only other player to reach that milestone in a Minnesota uniform.
Minnesota's three goals in the second period were matched by three fights in a penalty-marred period, including a bout between Nashville left winger James Neal and Minnesota defenseman Nate Prosser. It was Neal's hit on Wild left winger Zach Parise in the Predators' most recent visit to Minnesota, which left Parise sidelined with an injured knee.
Vanek, who had been snakebitten by Rinne all game, closed the scoring with a power play goal 2:28 into the third period with assists by Jason Pominville and Suter.
NOTES: Injured Minnesota LW Zach Parise participated in the team's morning skate but was not in the lineup against Nashville, missing his seventh straight game with a sprained MCL. ... Nashville reassigned C Colton Sissons and activated LW Eric Nystrom from injured reserve after the one-time Wild forward missed eight games with a lower body injury. ... Wild D Jonas Brodin returned to the Minnesota lineup after sitting out Thursday's game in Boston because of illness. ... Saturday's game was the first of four straight and sixth in the next seven at home for Minnesota, which is off until hosting Vancouver on Wednesday night. ... The Predators travel to New York to face the Rangers on Monday in the third game of a five-game road trip.