The Minnesota Wild took Game 3 of their first round playoff series agains the St. Louis Blues, 3-0, thanks to a pair of second period goals and a shutout from Devan Dubnyk -- the first of his playoff career.
Blues vs. Wild Game 3 results: Parise, Pominville lead Minnesota to victory
Minnesota broke through in the second period and never trailed as it took a 2-1 series lead.
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Nino Niederreiter sealed the victory for Minnesota by potting an empty netter with 2:02 left in the third.
Minnesota's line of Zach Parise, Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville created lots of pressure in the early going and were rewarded for their efforts in the middle frame, when Pominville and Parise scored 2:05 apart to give the Wild a 2-0 lead. That trio finished the night with two points apiece.
Pominville's tally came off a backhand into an open net. Before the goal, St. Louis backstop Jake Allen moved to his far right as Parise gained control in the left circle, but instead of shooting, Parise slid the puck to Pominville, who had no trouble depositing it into the vacant cage.
Parise found twine by winning a puck battle in the slot with Jay Bouwmeester and firing a shot through Allen's five hole.
Conversely, St. Louis' top line of Alex Steen, Jori Lehtera and Vladimir Tarasenko were remarkably impotent for the second time in three games. Steen fired two pucks on net late in the game, but couldn't convert; Lehtera and Tarasenko each failed to register a shot on goal.
In Game 1, none of them registered a shot until the final minute of regulation.
Dubnyk continued his masterful year in Minnesota by stopping all 17 St. Louis shots that came his way. Despite the loss, Allen performed well under heavy pressure and saved 18 of 20 through 40 minutes. Minnesota mustered just four shots in the third.
Game 4 of this series will take place on Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center. Opening puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET.
See More:
