SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild used plenty of defense and just enough offense to snap a losing streak on Tuesday, beating the Montreal Canadiens 2-1.

Right winger Jason Pominville scored a first-period goal and center Charlie Coyle added one in the third for the Wild, who lost two in a row but headed into the holiday break on a high note. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper had 24 saves for Minnesota (18-9-6) and he improved to 4-0-4 this season.

The offensive drought continued for the Canadiens, who got 20 saves from goalie Mike Condon, but lost their fifth in a row. Left winger Daniel Carr scored the lone goal for Montreal (20-13-3), which now lost nine of its past 10 contests and has scored just five times in the past five games.

As they so often do at home, the Wild opened the scoring when center Mikael Granlund sailed down the right side of the offensive zone and sent a rising shot that hit Condon up high, producing a rebound that landed at the top of the crease. Pominville was waiting there and swatted the puck past Condon with a sweeping backhand shot.

Granlund thought he doubled Minnesota's lead in the final minute of the first when his poke at a loose puck bounced under Condon and appeared headed over the goal line when the goalie swept away and covered the puck. Referee Justin St. Pierre called no goal on the ice, and after a lengthy replay process upheld the call. Replays showed the puck on the verge of crossing the goal line before Condon covered it, but there was no clear view of the puck in the net.

Montreal lost defenseman Tom Gilbert in the opening period to a lower body injury. He did not return.

Coyle made it 2-0 early in the third after a long lead pass from right winger Nino Niederreiter and flipping a shot off Condon's right shoulder and in. Wild left winger Zach Parise though he'd made it 3-0 a few minutes later when he slapped a puck past Condon's left skate, but after another lengthy review the officials again announced no goal.

On the next shift, Carr finally got Montreal on the board, sliding a low shot under Kuemper's left leg pad. It was the second goal in three games for Carr, who joined the team on Dec. 9.

NOTES: On Monday, Wild D Mike Reilly took his first NHL pregame warmup but did not make his NHL debut. On Tuesday, the Wild returned the former University of Minnesota standout to their AHL team at Iowa. He has been recalled and sent down twice without seeing action. ... Forty years ago on Dec. 22, 1973, Canadiens C Jacques Lemaire scored his 200th career goal in a 7-1 Montreal win over Buffalo. Lemaire coached the Canadiens for parts of two seasons in the 1980s and was the Wild's coach for their first eight seasons after Minnesota entered the league as an expansion team in 2000. ... Both teams will be off until Saturday as part of the NHL-mandated holiday break. The Canadiens are in the midst of a season-long, seven-game road trip and will visit the Washington Capitals next. Minnesota, which is on a four-game homestand, hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins.