Wild 4, Devils 0: Josh Harding made 19 saves en route to his second shutout of the season and Zach Parise recorded an assist against his former team as host Minnesota posted its second straight victory.
Mikael Granlund, Torrey Mitchell and Dany Heatley scored for the Wild, who have won five of their last six contests. Jason Pominville extended his goal-scoring streak to four games with an empty-netter and Nino Niederreiter collected three assists as Minnesota improved to 2-1-0 on its four-game homestand.
Harding turned aside 10 shots in the first period, five in the second and four in the third for his ninth career shutout. The Devils were blanked for the fourth time this season and second in as many days, as they dropped a 1-0 decision at home to Philadelphia on Saturday.
Granlund opened the scoring with 6:40 remaining in the first period, grabbing a loose puck in the slot and firing it into a vacant net for his first goal of the season. Granlund began the day tied for the team scoring lead with 10 points - all assists.
Mitchell doubled the lead at 7:35 of the second, when the rebound of Parise's shot bounced off his body and into the net. Heatley made it 3-0 during a power play as he tipped defenseman Keith Ballard's shot from the right point past Cory Schneider (16 saves) just 4:19 into the third.
GAME NOTEBOOK: New Jersey D Jon Merrill's NHL debut lasted only three shifts as the 21-year-old Oklahoma native suffered facial lacerations when he was drilled into the boards after being tripped by Minnesota C Torrey Mitchell less than five minutes into the game. ... Merrill was in the lineup for fellow D Anton Volchenkov, who is sidelined with a lower-body injury. ... Schneider (lower body) was activated from injured reserve prior to the game.
New Jersey | Minnesota | |
N/A | Points | Nino Niederreiter 3 |
N/A | Goals | Jason Pominville 1 |
N/A | Assists | Nino Niederreiter 3 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | Dany Heatley 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Cory Schneider .842 | Save Percentage | Josh Harding 1.000 |
Cory Schneider 16 | Saves | Josh Harding 19 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
New Jersey | 19 | 0 | 0-3 | 2-3 | 8 | 15 |
Minnesota | 20 | 4 | 1-3 | 3-3 | 8 | 39 |