Victory finally gets road monkey off Wild's back

Keith Srakocic, AP

Wild defenseman Marek Zidlicky goaded Penguins star Sidney Crosby into a fight, a more-than-fair trade from the Wild's point of view.

In a bloody and hard-fought game against the Stanley Cup champs, the Wild ended a nearly monthlong away drought.

By RACHEL BLOUNT, Star Tribune

Last update: November 1, 2009 - 12:44 AM

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WILD 2, PITTSBURGH 1 • Up next: vs. Vancouver • 7 p.m. Thursday • Xcel Energy Center • TV: FSN (830-AM)

wild 2, pittsburgh 1 Up next: 7 p.m. Thursday vs. Vancouver • TV: FSN (830-AM)

PITTSBURGH — Several minutes after the Wild wrapped up its first road victory of the season, Eric Belanger was still trying to stanch the bleeding from his nose and mouth. The center had been caught in the crossfire of a late assault by Pittsburgh, and he took a stick in the face during the Penguins' mad scramble at the doorstep of the Wild's goal.

It hurt far less than it might have, given the Wild's 2-1 victory Saturday over the defending Stanley Cup champions. A road losing streak that dragged on for almost a month ended in a most unlikely spot, thanks to Belanger's split-second timing and a gritty effort that spanned the entire game at Mellon Arena. Belanger scored the winning goal with 0.6 seconds left in the first period, and goalie Niklas Backstrom -- aided by a stout Wild defense -- held the Penguins without a goal through the final 45 minutes, 12 seconds.

Even though the Wild was outshot 35-15, it made few mistakes, and helped Backstrom by fighting to clear pucks and stopping the Penguins on all three of their power plays. By refusing to back down, it earned two victories in a row for the first time this season.

"It was very big for us to get that first [road victory]," said Backstrom, who did not surrender a goal after Pascal Dupuis scored at 14 minutes, 48 seconds of the first period. "We did a good job of battling for every puck and making it tough for them. We played a simple game, which is what we need to do."

Like the Rangers, whom the Wild beat 24 hours earlier, the Penguins were missing a handful of stars -- including second-leading scorer Evgeni Malkin, who had not missed a game in three seasons until a shoulder strain kept him out Friday and Saturday. But they had lost only once in their past 10 games.

The Penguins controlled the puck for much of the first period, outshooting the Wild 16-4. But while Backstrom limited the damage, the Wild worked efficiently with the few chances it got. Kyle Brodziak struck first, flicking in the rebound of Brent Burns' shot at 12:11 of the first.

Two former Wild players evened it when Dupuis -- wide open in the slot -- fired home a pass from Martin Skoula. Backstrom responded by withstanding the Penguins' continuing onslaught. Though the Wild was outshot 26-9 over the first 40 minutes, the tireless effort of the defense helped keep the Penguins from scoring.

Belanger's goal from the right circle, off a nice feed from Martin Havlat, restored the lead and gave the Wild a shot of energy heading into the first intermission. "I had no idea [that less than a second remained], but I knew there wasn't a lot of time," he said. "I took it as soon as I could. Backy was great; you need a goalie like that to steal a game on the road, and that's what he did."

The Wild effectively neutralized Penguins megastar Sidney Crosby. Marek Zidlicky lured him into a fight that took him off the ice for five minutes in the second period, and Greg Zanon knocked the puck away from him late in the third as the Penguins menaced the Wild 4-on-4. Crosby did not score on three shots and finished minus-1.

"Our defense competed very hard, and you have to give credit to Backstrom, who made huge saves for us," Wild coach Todd Richards said. "It was a gutsy, character performance. We've gotten the monkey off our back."

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