There will be comprehensive coverage, photos, videos of today's 6-1 Wild win over the Blackhawks at TCF Bank Stadium over at startribune.com/wild, so I'm just going to toss a blog up here with facts, tidbits and stats from today's big win.
The Wild has the day off Monday, so I'll do a follow with leftovers and advance the home game against the Islanders in Tuesday's paper. I'll also be in studio with Paul Allen at 9 a.m. Monday and on Tuesday, I'll be solo hosting the Russo-Souhan Show at Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub at 4 p.m. before the game, so please stop on by.
A couple special guests that will make for a very fun show.
As for today, Jason Pominville continued his great play of late with a goal and two assists, Erik Haula scored a career-high three points with his fourth multi-point game in the past seven, Nino Niederreiter had a goal and assist, Ryan Carter had a goal and assist and game-high six shots, Matt Dumba scored another goal, Thomas Vanek scored a game-winning goal for the second consecutive game, Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon were each +3 and Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves as the Wild improved to 4-0 under John Torchetti.
The Wild has scored 21 goals under Torchetti in those four games. Thirteen different ones have scored those 21 goals, and six different ones today.
Here's some cut-and-paste from both the Wild and NHL on today's game:
FROM THE WILD
The game marked the first time the Wild participated in a regular-season outdoor NHL game and marked the NHL's 17th overall outdoor game. TCF Bank Stadium became the third football stadium to host a Stadium Series game, joining Soldier Field (2014) and Levi's Stadium (2015). It joins Michigan Stadium (2014 Winter Classic) as the only NHL outdoor games played on a university campus. A special game featuring alumni from the Wild, Blackhawks and Minnesota North Stars took place Saturday afternoon in which Team Minnesota defeated Chicago, 6-4, in front of a crowd of 37,922.
Minnesota won its fourth consecutive game, it's longest winning streak of the season. The Wild extends its franchise record to four games with scoring at least five regulation goals in consecutive games. Minnesota has now won five straight regular-season contests against Chicago – its longest streak since 2007. The Wild is 11-6-1 in its last 18 games against the Blackhawks.
The Wild has scored a power-play goal in four straight games and in 11 of its last 13 games. Minnesota ranks seventh amongst Western Conference teams and ranks 10th in the NHL this season with a 21.6 power-play percentage on home ice (19-of-88).
RW Jason Pominville used three points (1-2=3) to record his 32nd career three-point plus game, his first three-point contest since Jan. 15, 2015. It also marks his second multi-point game in the last three games. His three points in today's game ties the NHL record for most points in one regular season NHL outdoor game. He extends his point streak to three games (3-3=6). He owns 27 points (9-18=27) in 59 matches this season. He ranks second on the Wild in shots (154) and T-4th in assists.
C Erik Haula recorded his first career three-point game, using a goal and two assists. He has four mutli-point games in the last seven contests – his ninth career multi-point game. He has nine points (3-6=9) in the last seven games. The former Golden Gopher has already set career highs in assists (12) and points (20) and ties his career-best in goals (7). He leads Minnesota with a plus-13 rating this season.
RW Nino Niederreiter tallied two points (1-1=2) for his 15th career multi-point game, fifth this season. He owns five points (2-3=5) in the last four games and 29 points (11-18=29) in 59 games this season.
C Ryan Carter earned second star honors after netting two points (1-1=2) and tying his career-best six shots. The White Bear native has nine points (6-3=9) in 49 games this season.
D Matt Dumba scored the game's first goal, setting a career-high nine goals this season. He owns three points (2-1=3) in the last two games and nine points (4-5=9) in the last 10 games. He ranks T-5th amongst NHL defensemen in power-play goals and T-7th in game-winning goals.
LW Thomas Vanek netted the Wild's second goal of the game, his fifth power-play goal of the season. He owns three points (2-1=3) in back-to-back games and seven points (3-4=7) in the last seven games. He has 36 points (17-19=36) in 58 games. He ranks T-3rd on the Wild in power-play goals, third in goals and T-3rd in points.
D Mike Reilly recorded the secondary assist on Vanek's goal and skated a career-high 16:17 TOI. The former Golden Gopher has three helpers in the last two games, marking his first career point streak. He owns four points (2-2=4) in 11 games with the Wild.
G Devan Dubnyk earns his third consecutive win, stopping 31-of-32 shots today. He has made 80-of-86 saves in his last three games, posting a 2.00 GAA and a .930 SV% in that span. He ranks T-4th in the NHL with four shutouts this season, totaling 21 wins, a 2.37 GAA and .918 SV% in 46 games (45 starts).
RW Patrick Kane scored the lone goal for Chicago. G Corey Crawford allowed four goals on 23 shots through two periods while G Scott Darling made eight saves in relief during the third period.
FROM THE NHL
