The Minnesota Wild played shorthanded Tuesday night on the road due to recent injuries and their financial situation, but five goals in special teams situations and a vintage performance by Marc-Andre Fleury lifted them to a 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens inside Bell Centre.
The Wild — without Jared Spurgeon, Matt Boldy and Alex Goligoski due to injury — were forced to play 11 forwards and six defenseman after Goligoski suffered an injury in practice on Monday.
But the Wild stepped up in their absences and now they enter their three-game homestand that starts Thursday against the L.A. Kings with a 2-1 record.
“I don’t think we think too much about it," Joel Eriksson Ek told the media post game. "Try to get the job done and just play for each other. That’s what we always want to do, and I think we did a great job at it right now.”
That sentiment was on display right from puck drop.
The Wild didn't play like they were a man short and set the tone with early pressure, which resulted in several Grade-A chances in the first five minutes with a post from Brandon Duhaime and a crossbar from Jonas Brodin.
The Wild's penalty kill was sharp and their aggressive play led to a 2-0 first-period lead. The Canadiens turned the puck over twice in the offensive zone on their first power play of the night, which gave the Wild not one, but two shorthanded 2-on-1 rushes.
The Wild capitalized on both of them.
Duhaime beat Sam Montembeault far side below the glove from the left circle to get the Wild on the board with 10:40 left in the first period.
With a goal and a fight against Montreal's Michael Pezzetta, Duhaime just needed an assist to complete a Gordie Howe hat trick. Duhaime, 26, now has two goals in three games, which is exactly the type of start he's looking for in a contract year.
The same can be said for Connor Dewar, who scored an unassisted goal in front on the same penalty kill 25 seconds later after another offensive zone turnover by the Canadiens led to a partial 2-on-1 before Duhaime slowed down and took a long-range shot.
“I think it starts with good sticks," Duhaime said of the penalty kill in an interview with Bally Sports North's Kevin Gorg during the first intermission. "You poke a puck in the D-zone, and we’re four guys on it. We’re really pressing it hard and getting good clears.”
From the middle frame on, the power play took center stage.
The Wild capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play for a 3-0 lead when Eriksson Ek scored on his own rebound in front after receiving a feed from Mats Zuccarello, who had a three-point night.
Tanner Pearson broke Fleury's shutout bid when his shot beat him glove side from the right circle to cut Montreal's deficit to 3-1.
But the Wild connected again on the man advantage when Kirill Kaprizov one-timed Zuccarello's pass through the slot from a tight angle for his first goal of the season, which gave the Wild a 4-1 lead with 2:38 left in the second. Kaprizov finished with three points and the highest time on ice among Wild forwards at 22:04.
Eriksson Ek's net front presence provided dividends again when he tucked a pass from Kaprizov under Montembeault's pad from the top of the crease for his second power play marker of the night, increasing the Wild's lead to 5-1 with 14:40 left on the clock. Eriksson Ek's three goals leads the Wild right now.
Alex Newhook scored with 2:25 left, which cut the Wild's lead to 5-2.
Special teams proved to be the deciding factor in the win as the Wild went 3-for-8 on the power play and a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill with two shorthanded markers. Marcus Johansson's ability to enter the zone cleanly and with ease was especially noticeable on the power play Tuesday night.
And Fleury, in what may end up being his final game in Montreal, delivered a strong performance in goal for the Wild with 27 saves on 29 shots for a .931 save percentage. As well as the Wild played, the Canadiens had their chances, but Fleury kept closing the door.
Fleury made some impressive saves Tuesday night like when he made two pad saves in a row on the penalty kill in the final minute of the second period, but a two-pad stack save on Jonathan Kovacevic was his most notable one.
“Definitely special," Fleury told the media. "Like I told myself at the start of the season, I want to enjoy every moment not knowing if this is it. My teammates played amazing in front of me.”
This is exactly the type of performance the Wild needed from Fleury. The Wild's 1-2 punch in goal between Filip Gustavsson and him will be beneficial over a long season.
• The Wild's young kids in Brock Faber, Marco Rossi and Calen Addison had strong showings on Tuesday night.
Faber has been especially noticeable these first three games not only because of his strong defensive play, but because he's been much more active offensively jumping up into the play and creating opportunities in the offensive zone.
While Rossi only has a goal in three games, it's evident that he's a different player from this time a year ago, and his underlying numbers are positive. He didn't get on the scoresheet Tuesday night, but he led Wild forwards with a 74.19 expected goals percentage, according to Natural Stat Trick. He continues to trend in the right direction.
Addison has noticeably improved and has played well in these first three games. He led the Wild with a 86.04 expected goals percentage with three shots in 19 minutes and 31 seconds of ice time on Tuesday night. And with Addison on the ice, the Wild finished with about 81 percent of the Corsi share in all situations, the best mark on the team according to Natural Stat Trick.