ST. PAUL Lars Eller Jersey , Minn. (AP) — Knowing that a daunting seven-game trip awaited them, the Minnesota Wild wanted to leave home on a high note.A win against a division rival helped them do just that.Eric Staal put Minnesota ahead on the power play with 9:44 remaining, and Jonas Brodin had a late empty-netter as the Wild held on to beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 on Saturday night.Staal’s goal came on the fifth power play of the night for Minnesota, which won its fifth straight. The Wild had failed to score with the man advantage until Staal’s shot from between the faceoff circles found its way past Semyon Varlamov.“We made a little tweak on the power play and I think it opened up a little bit different of a threat,” Staal said.Brodin’s empty-netter gave the Wild a 3-1 lead with 2:43 remaining. Colorado pulled Varlamov after going on the power play, but Minnesota won the faceoff in its own zone before Brodin fired the length of the rink to score.“I got lucky on that one,” Brodin said. “I felt I could go for it. It’s a PK, too, so it’s not going to be icing. I went for it and I got lucky.”Gabriel Landeskog scored in traffic for Colorado with 41.1 seconds remaining. Mark Barberio also scored for the Avalanche, and Mikael Granlund had Minnesota’s first goal, extending his point streak to seven games.Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves for the Wild, while Varlamov stopped 25 shots.Staal’s goal came after a penalty on Nikita Zadorov. Granlund and Jason Zucker assisted.Minnesota is now 5-1-1 on the year when giving up the first goal. Saturday marked the first time all season Colorado lost after scoring first.Colorado’s top line of Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen was held mostly in check. The trio entered Saturday with 53 points but was frustrated for most of the night by Minnesota’s defense.“We had a lot of good chances Madison Bowey Jersey , a lot of good looks,” MacKinnon said. “I guess you can’t score every time.”Granlund’s shot at 7:15 of the second period found a bit of room between Varlamov and the pipe to even the game at 1-1, just seconds after Matt Calvert emerged from the penalty box.Minnesota killed all six penalties, including 45 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage for Colorado. The Avalanche entered Saturday’s game with the eighth-best power play in the league (27.5 percent). Minnesota came in having scored on 11.5 percent of its power plays, which was 27th in the league.“Special teams in games like this win you games,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. “They were the difference, I thought.”Minnesota and Colorado have each won a game in the rivalry so far this year. The Avalanche won 4-1 in the season opener on Oct. 1.“We did some good things. But we can’t be happy with a loss,” Barberio said. “I know it’s early, but this division’s too good and too tight to drop points.”NOTES: Wild D Ryan Suter was honored for playing in his 1,000th career game. Suter reached the milestone Thursday against the Kings. … Avalanche C Tyson Jost sat out with a head injury. … Minnesota F Jordan Greenway had a hat trick for the Iowa Wild on Saturday in his first game since being assigned to Minnesota’s AHL affiliate a day earlier.UP NEXTAvalanche: At Calgary on Thursday night.Wild: Visit Vancouver on Monday night in the opener of a seven-game trip. Minnesota won’t play at home again until Nov. 13. PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dylan Strome broke a tie 1:48 into the third period and the Chicago Blackhawks beat Pittsburgh 5-3 on Sunday night to end the Penguins‘ winning streak at eight games.Strome scored seconds after a power-play expired, beating fallen goalie Casey DeSmith off a pass from Patrick Kane. Jonathan Toews added an empty-net goal and had an assist to run his points streak to six games.Alex DeBrincat scored on a power play for his 19th of the season, and Chris Kunitz and Duncan Keith both scored their first for the Blackhawks. They won their 10th straight against the Penguins, including five straight in Pittsburgh. The Blackhawks haven’t lost to the Penguins since March 30 Nicklas Backstrom Jersey , 2014, in Pittsburgh.Chicago snapped a two-game skid and has won three of five and six of nine following an eight-game losing streak in November.Kane had three assists. He’s the 20th player in NHL history and the first American-born skater to begin his career with at least 12 straight seasons with 30-plus assists. Cam Ward stopped 31 shots.Jake Guentzel, Patric Hornqvist and Derick Brassard scored for the Penguins, and DeSmith stopped 26 shots.COYOTES 5, RANGERS 0GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Rookie Conor Garland scored twice, Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves for his first shutout of the season and 12th overall and Arizona beat New York to end a three-game losing streak.Alex Galchenyuk had a goal and two assists, and Mario Kempe and Clayton Keller also scored to help give coach Rick Tocchet his 100th NHL victory. The Coyotes won for the second time in their last nine home games.Galchenyuk has 10 points in his last eight games, and Garland has three goals in his last two games and five in his last seven. Garland was recalled from Tucson of the American Hockey League early last month.New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 of 32 shots before being replaced by Alexander Georgiev with 3:22 left in the second period. Lundqvist also was pulled in his last start, a 7-2 loss to Pittsburgh, on Wednesday night.The Rangers have been outscored 18-3 while losing three straight games and have lost six of eight and nine of 12. They were shut out for the third time this season.CAPITALS 3, RED WINGS 2DETROIT (AP) — Michal Kempny scored with 3:52 remaining, and Washington beat Detroit to snap a three-game losing streak.Tom Wilson and Travis Boyd also scored for the Capitals James Neal Jersey Womens , who overcame another fruitless night for their power play and improved to 9-0-2 in their last 11 games against Detroit. Anthony Mantha and Filip Hronek scored for the Red Wings.The Capitals trailed 2-1 heading into the final period, but Boyd tied it off a pass from Alex Ovechkin. Goalie Jimmy Howard nearly made the save sliding from right to left, but the puck made it through. Kempny’s winner came on a wrist shot from the blue line that sailed through traffic.OILERS 4, DUCKS 0ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl scored again, Cam Talbot made 39 saves for his first shutout this season and Edmonton beat Anaheim for its second victory in nine games.Jesse Puljujarvi and Kyle Brodziak also scored to help the Oilers rebound from a 4-0 to Los Angeles on Saturday night. McDavid, who began the day fifth in the NHL in scoring, has five goals in his last seven games. Draisaitl has seven in the past seven games.Anaheim has lost eight straight after winning four in a row and nine of 10.GOLDEN KNIGHTS 3, DEVILS 2LAS VEGAS (AP) — Max Pacioretty broke a tie with 4:14 left in the second period and Malcolm Subban made 36 saves in his first home start since March 30 to help Vegas beat New Jersey.Set up in front of the net, Pacioretty redirected Shea Theodore’s shot from the point past goalie Keith Kincaid. After missing seven games because of a lower-body injury, Pacioretty also had the winner Friday night in his return at Anaheim.Ryan Reaves added his career-high eighth goal, and Brayden McNabb scored his first goal of the season. Vegas overcame a 2-0 deficit to improve to 17-3-3 since Nov. 21.Nico Hischier and Ben Lovejoy scored for New Jersey.HURRICANES 5, SENATORS 4OTTAWA T.J. Oshie Jersey , Ontario (AP) — Justin Williams broke a tie with a power-play goal at 7:34 of the third period and Carolina beat Ottawa for its fourth straight victory and Senators‘ eighth loss in a row.Justin Faulk and Brock McGinn each had a goal and an assist, Jaccob Slavin and Dougie Hamilton also scored, and Petr Mrazek made 27 saves.Jean-Gabriel Pageau tied it at 4 in his return from a torn Achilles. Rudolfs Balcers scored his first NHL goal, and Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel also scored.JETS 5, STARS 1INNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Kyle Connor ended a 10-game pointless streak with a goal to help Winnipeg beat Dallas.Adam Lowry, Tyler Myers, Bryan Little and Josh Morrissey, with an empty-net goal, also scored. Morrissey added an assist, Jacob Trouba had two, and Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves. The Jets rebounded from a 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh on Friday night.Alexander Radulov had a power-play goal for the Stars. They lost for the first time in regulation in their last six games (4-1-1).
