National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 7, Tampa Bay 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, October 25, 2014
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Chris Lee, Tom Chmielewski
Linesmen: Brad Lazarowich, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance: 18884

Wild 7, Lightning 2: Jason Zucker netted one of his two tallies during a four-goal first period as Minnesota pulled away from visiting Tampa Bay.

Zach Parise and defenseman Marco Scandella each recorded a goal and an assist while captain Mikko Koivu, Erik Haula and blue-liner Jared Spurgeon also tallied for the Wild. Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek recorded two assists apiece and Darcy Kuemper turned aside 17 shots for his fourth win in five decisions.

Defenseman Anton Stralman scored his first goal of 2013-14 to go along with his 100th career assist and Nikita Kucherov also tallied for Tampa Bay, which completed a 3-2-0 road trip. Evgeni Nabokov gave up four goals on eight shots before being replaced by Ben Bishop, who made 11 saves over the final two periods.

Scandella swept around Tampa Bay's defense to score 7:37 into the game and Koivu squeezed a shot past Nabokov from a sharp angle 39 seconds later. Stralman scored from in front at 11:04 to halve the deficit, but Haula answered from the slot after a turnover and Zucker whipped a shot past Nabokov from along the right-wing boards with 2:45 left in the first period to make it 4-1.

Parise knocked home his own rebound 2:11 into the middle session and Spurgeon beat everyone to the net to redirect Vanek’s pass behind Bishop at 11:12. Kucherov notched his first of the season late in the second on a deflection of Stralman’s shot before Zucker scored on a short-handed breakaway in the third.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Parise has collected seven points in the first six games of the campaign while Zucker has scored a team-leading four goals. … Tampa Bay C Brian Boyle played in his 400th career game while D Radko Gudas participated in his 100th. … Thirteen different players had at least one point for Minnesota, which improved to 3-0-0 at home.
Top Game Performances
 
Tampa Bay   Minnesota
Anton Stralman 2 Points Jason Zucker 2
Anton Stralman 1 Goals Jason Zucker 2
Anton Stralman 1 Assists Jason Pominville 2
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals Jason Zucker 1
Ben Bishop .786 Save Percentage Darcy Kuemper .895
Ben Bishop 11 Saves Darcy Kuemper 17
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Tampa Bay 19 2 0-4 1-1 7 29
Minnesota 22 7 0-1 4-4 13 24
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against NY Rangers. The Wild have a W/L % of .750 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Arizona. The Lightning have a W/L % of .333 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.