Backstrom is too tough for Penguins

PITTSBURGH - Who needs offensive juggernauts when you can have defensive juggernauts?

OK, scoring goals might be a tad more exciting, but stopping goal scorers can be just as satisfying.

That was evident by walking around the cramped visitors' locker room Tuesday night at the Igloo. The Wild, the best defensive team in the NHL, had just edged the defending Eastern Conference champion Penguins 2-1 in a shootout, and the pride of shutting down such an explosive offense was written on every face.

"Look at their lineup, look at their players," said goalie Niklas Backstrom, who made 24 saves, plus another three after overtime to improve to 3-0 in shootouts. "To keep them to one goal, that's a big effort for us. The boys out there played a huge game."

Leave it to the Wild, which now begins a season-long five-game homestand having won five of its past seven and surrendering 31 goals in 16 games (1.94 a game).

Two years ago, Sidney Crosby led the NHL in scoring, yet he left without a point. Last year, Evgeni Malkin finished second in scoring, yet the Wild did to him what 13 previous opponents couldn't -- kept him off the scoresheet. Both stars managed just one shot.

The Penguins' six-game winning streak ended. In those six games, the Penguins scored five or more goals five times. The Wild held Pittsburgh to less than four goals for the first time since Oct. 30.

"They've got two of the top-five players in the world," said defenseman Kim Johnsson, who played 29 minutes, 56 seconds. "When you play well against them, you feel good. As a whole team, we played really strong against them. We gave them no time with the puck."

Backstrom stopped Petr Sykora, Alex Goligoski and Crosby to improve to 8-for-8 in shootouts.

"Our goalie was great. He's the one that gave us the two points," said coach Jacques Lemaire.

And for the second consecutive game, defenseman Marek Zidlicky scored the shootout-deciding goal by tucking a forehand inside the post.

"It's 50-50," Zidlicky said. "Sometimes you score, sometimes you don't."

These days, the Wild doesn't score a lot, and in fact, didn't actually score a goal Tuesday.

In one of the flukiest plays you'd ever imagine, Mikko Koivu was credited with his third goal 7:57 into the first period when Penguins center Michael Zigomanis cleanly won a faceoff back toward his net. The puck bounced oddly and squeezed through Dany Sabourin's pads for a 1-0 Wild lead.

"Sometimes you get huge chances and empty nets and everything, but it doesn't go in. And then something like that happens," Koivu said.

Ten seconds later, however, the Penguins tied the score when Jordan Staal's shot deflected off Wild defenseman Erik Reitz and right to Matt Cooke, who buried it.

From there, it was a defensive battle. The Penguins controlled most of the play, and the Wild, which owns the NHL's best penalty kill (four goals allowed all year), doused four power plays, including a 1:28, 4-on-3 in overtime.

Still, Lemaire is concerned about the Wild offense, which, not including its three shootout-awarded goals, has scored 39 times (2.43 a game).

"Our game now, it seems like it's defense," Lemaire said. "At a time it's going to get tougher if we don't score. We can't rely on the power play all the time to score.

"Defensively we did well. But I'd like to get Crosby and Malkin so we can get some offense."