Granlund's goal with 44.5 seconds left lifts Wild 1-0
SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- Mikael Granlund's goal with 44.5 seconds remaining in regulation broke a scoreless tie and lifted the Minnesota Wild to a 1-0 victory over the Boston Bruins in a battle between two of the NHL's most snakebitten teams.
Granlund, who also scored the Wild's most recent goal at home, attempted to feed Jonas Brodin at the weak-side post but his pass deflected behind Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask to break the Wild's six-period scoreless streak at home.
As expected, though, Rask (28 saves) and Minnesota's Devan Dubnyk (25 saves) were the stars of the show. The shutout is Dubnyk's league-leading fourth of the season.
The matchup of two of the league's best goaltenders did not disappoint. Rask (1.54) and Dubnyk (1.60) entered the game Nos. 1 and 2 in the NHL in goals-against average while Dubnyk (.948) held a slight edge over Rask (.945) for the league lead in save percentage.
Boston nearly won it in regulation when Wild defenseman Matt Dumba gave the puck away to Matt Beleskey at the Minnesota blue line. Beleskey went in alone on Dubnyk, who dove out to the hash marks to poke check and smother the puck before a shot could be taken six minutes into the third.
The Bruins appeared to take a 1-0 lead at the 14:36 mark of the second period when Dubnyk steered Tory Krug's shot from the right point directly into the skate of David Backes and across the goal line. But Minnesota challenged the zone entry and the play was ruled offside to nullify the goal.
Minutes later, Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon's pass found Jason Pominville alone down low but Rask deftly gobbled up the veteran forward's shot with his glove. it was the second time Rask robbed Pominville from in tight.
Both goaltenders were sharp when they needed to be in the opening 20 minutes but perhaps the best save of the period belonged to Granlund, whose outstretched skate thwarted a McQuaid power-play attempt.
Granlund later felt McQuaid's pain when he sailed a second period shot wide of an open net from the bottom of the right circle.
NOTES: Minnesota returned C Joel Eriksson Ek to Farjestad BK in the Swedish Elite League on Thursday. The 19-year-old Eriksson Ek, who has two goals and three assists in nine games overall but none in his last five, was selected by the Wild in the first round (No. 20 overall) of the 2015 draft. ... Boston D Kevan Miller has resumed practicing with the Bruins but is not ready to set a timetable for his return from a broken left thumb suffered in the team's final preseason game. ... Wild D Marco Scandella, out since Oct. 27 with a high right-ankle sprain, participated in the team's pregame skate but is ineligible to return from long-term IR until Nov. 23. ... Minnesota hosts Colorado on Saturday to complete a three-game homestand and the third of seven games in a 12-day span for the Wild. Meanwhile, the Bruins return to Boston to host Winnipeg on Saturday.