Wild Beat Islanders For 12th Consecutive Win
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Erik Haula scored midway through the third period to help the Minnesota Wild hold off the New York Islanders 6-4 on Thursday night for their 12th victory in a row.
Marco Scandella, Chris Stewart, Jared Spurgeon, Jordan Schroeder and Mikael Granlund also scored for Minnesota, which had a franchise-record three goals in 80 seconds in the second period.
The Wild's Devan Dubnyk allowed more than three goals for the first time this season but made 23 saves to win his 10th straight start.
Haula put Minnesota ahead 5-4 with his sixth goal after Nino Niederreiter's shot deflected off Haula's leg. New York's Brock Nelson scored twice in 42 seconds early in the period to tie it.
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The win sets up a showdown on New Year's Eve against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have won 14 straight games. It's the first game in NHL history featuring two teams on such long winning streaks.
Jason Chimera and Nick Leddy also scored for the Islanders, who had won three in a row. Jean-Francois Berube stopped 10 of 11 shots for New York after taking over for Jaroslav Halak.
Nelson's quick trigger negated Minnesota's flurry in the second.
After Leddy had given the Islanders a 2-1 lead in the second, Stewart scored from beside the goal, banking it off Halak's shoulder into the net. Spurgeon scored 35 seconds later and Schroeder capped the franchise's fastest stretch of three goals with his second of the season.
The Wild's previous record for fastest three goals was 1:41 in 2004.
The outburst ended Halak's night. He was pulled early for the second time this season after giving up four goals on 24 shots. Berube played just his fourth game of the season and second in relief.
NOTES: The Wild reassigned F Kurtis Gabriel to Iowa of the AHL prior to the game. Gabriel has one assist and 24 penalty minutes in 10 games with Minnesota this season. ... G Thomas Greiss was scratched for the second time since Nov. 18 as the Islanders have rostered three goaltenders all season. ... New York's 6-3 win earlier this season is the only time Minnesota has lost a game by more than one goal. ... The Wild have outscored teams 44-22 in the second period this season.
UP NEXT
Islanders: A four-game road trip continues in Winnipeg on Saturday.
Wild: The two hottest teams in the NHL meet as Minnesota hosts the Columbus on Saturday.
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