ST. PAUL, Minn. - In the midst of a good old fashioned goaltenders' duel, right-winger Mikael Granlund scored the game-winning goal with 44.5 seconds left as the Minnesota Wild earned a 1-0 win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center.
Granlund threw a puck on net with chaos in front of Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask, and it glanced off of Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid and into the back of the net.
That was enough for Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk who recorded 25 saves en route to his fourth shutout of the season.
It was always going to be a low-scoring game with the way both goaltenders were playing heading into the matchup.
Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk entered with a 1.60 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage in 12 games. Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask, meanwhile, entered with an even more impressive 1.54 goals-against average and a.945 save percentage in 11 games.
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After an evenly played first period, the Wild controlled the pace for a majority of the second period, outshooting the Bruins 12-8.
Still, the Bruins appeared to take the lead late in the frame after Minnesota native David Backes deflected a shot past Dubnyk. That play was reviewed, however, and it was ruled that the Bruins were offside, thus negating the goal.
Wild veteran right-winger Jason Pominville had the two best scoring opportunities of the period, and both times Rask was there to make the save.
Rask was sharp throughout the night, finishing with 28 saves. Dubnyk was even better.
Dubnyk had his biggest save of the night early in the third period as Bruins left-winger Matt Beleskey streaked into the zone following a turnover from Wild defenseman Matt Dumba. Dubnyk met Beleskey near the hashes and poke-checked the puck away to keep the game scoreless
That led the way for Granlund to play hero.
