Red Wings 3, Wild 2: Red-hot Gustav Nyquist ran his goal-scoring streak to four games with the tiebreaking tally early in third period as visiting Detroit took over the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference by taking the opener of the home-and-home series.

David Legwand and defenseman Brendan Smith each recorded a power-play goal and an assist as the Red Wings won for the fourth time in five games. Riley Sheahan and blue-liner Jakub Kindl each collected a pair of assists while Jimmy Howard turned aside 28 shots for Detroit, which is even in points with Washington for the final postseason berth but has two games in hand.

Captain Mikko Koivu scored a man-advantage goal and Charlie Coyle converted a penalty shot for the Wild, who lost for the seventh time in nine games (2-3-4). Rookie Darcy Kuemper made 27 saves as Minnesota saw its 10-game home point streak (7-0-3) come to an end and remained four points ahead of Phoenix for the first wild card in the West.

With the Wild trailing 2-1 after two periods, Coyle leveled it 15 seconds into the third by beating Howard on a penalty shot after being pulled down by Johan Franzen on a breakaway. Nyquist put the Red Wings ahead five minutes later, cutting across before ripping a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that beat Kuemper to the far post for his fifth goal in four games.

Legwand put the Red Wings ahead with the only goal of the middle session, burying a point-blank shot from the slot off a slick set-up by Sheahan from the left side of the net. The Wild capitalized on an early power play as Koivu buried a one-timer after a drop pass from defenseman Ryan Suter 5 1/2 minutes into the contest, but Smith tied it five minutes later with a backhander from a sharp angle after Legwand's shot clanged off the post.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Nyquist leads the NHL in goals since Jan. 20 with 16 in 22 games. ... Koivu netted his first goal since returning from a two-month absence while recovering from ankle surgery, ending a 13-game drought. ... Detroit survived a major scare in the first period, when D Niklas Kronwall slid head-first into the boards and went to the locker room, but he was back on the ice later in the period.