NASHVILLE, Tenn. - To the NHL schedule-maker, it was listed as Game 490.

For the Nashville Predators, it was a little more important than your average mid-December contest.

Badly in need of two points to get its season back on track, Nashville earned those at the expense of one of the league's hottest teams.

Scoring more than two goals for just the sixth time in 16 games, the Predators dumped the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Saturday night at sold-out Bridgestone Arena.

"That's a big game," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "We're in a situation where wins have been hard to come by. I thought we hung our jerseys together and played hard. We got a big win, and now we have to think about the next one."

In upping their record to 16-11-6, the Predators handed Minnesota (17-8-6) its first regulation loss since Nov. 27. The Wild were 6-0-3 in their previous nine games, but never generated much push, save for a brief spell in the first period and then for about half the third period.

Nashville needed only 46 seconds to get on the board, left winger Filip Forsberg tipping defenseman Shea Weber's wrister past goalie Devan Dubnyk for his seventh goal. Unlike other games in which they had scored first and then not scored again, the Predators added to their total.

Reaping the benefits of 4:22 of power play time as Minnesota took minors for interference, delay of game and too many men on the ice, Nashville made it 2-0 at 14:11 when center Mike Ribeiro deflected Weber's point blast for his fourth goal.

"That was important to add that second goal," Weber said. "We kept pushing forward."

Right winger James Neal increased the advantage to 3-0 at 8:06 of the second period when he wristed a 26-footer from the left faceoff circle by Dubnyk. The goal was made possible when center Calle Jarnkrok intercepted a clearing attempt near the blue line, shoveling the puck to Neal.

The Wild finally answered at 8:49 when left winger Zach Parise tipped a slapper from defenseman Marco Scandella past goalie Pekka Rinne, his 11th marker. But Minnesota's most sustained attack occurred in the game's last 12 minutes.

Left winger Jason Zucker, snuffed by Rinne on a first period penalty shot, cut the Wild's deficit to 3-2 with a wrister from the high slot at 8:35 of the third. Minnesota then earned its lone power play at 10:34 when left winger Viktor Arvidsson was called for holding defenseman Matt Dumba.

However, the Predators' penalty killing unit - tied for 28th in the league - kept the Wild on the perimeter for most of the two minutes as Rinne (13-9-6) made three of his 20 saves. Minnesota pulled Dubnyk with about two minutes remaining but managed only one shot on goal.

"I didn't think we had the poise or urgency in our game in the first part," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "We made a little push at the end, but it was too little, too late."

Dubnyk (14-8-2) kept Minnesota in contention with 36 saves, a spate of which came on Grade A chances. He denied left winger Colin Wilson on a breakaway late in the first period, then delivered stops on point-blank chances from Jarnkrok early in the second and center Cody Hodgson later in the second.

But Nashville, which is 9-10-5 since starting the season 7-1-1, wasn't about to dwell on those missed chances or the fact it had to sweat out the last 10 minutes despite owning a 66-42 advantage in total shots.

It won Game 490, a win it felt it had to have.

"That's a good group over there," Weber said of the Wild. "We're not exactly world-beaters, but this is something for us to build on. Hopefully, we win the next one before the break and try to come back strong after it."

NOTES: Minnesota entered the game tied for eighth in the NHL on the power play, but is only 26th in road power plays. It is third in home power plays. ... Nashville C Mike Fisher (lower-body injury) skated in Saturday morning's practice but sat out his ninth straight game. He was injured on Dec. 1 in a 5-2 win over Arizona. ... C Erik Haula and G Niklas Backstrom were the Wild's scratches. ... The Predators scratched D Anthony Bitetto and LW Austin Watson.