Dubnyk has 31 saves for 2nd shutout as Wild beat Lightning
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Playing without injured leading-scorer Zach Parise, the Minnesota Wild needed players to raise their game in his absence.
Goaltender Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves for his second shutout this season, and the Wild beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 Saturday night.
Defenseman Jared Spurgeon scored the lone goal for Minnesota, which lost Parise for at least a week due to a sprained MCL. Dubnyk posted his seventh shutout in 51 games as the Wild won for the sixth time in seven home games.
''We talked this morning about guys stepping up, those guys didn't have to be forwards,'' Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said. ''It was definitely Doobie's best game of the season.''
Spurgeon scored his second goal of the season just 26 seconds into the second when his wrist shot from the blue line found its way past Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop, who made 24 saves but lost his fifth straight game.
The Lightning, the defending Eastern Conference champions, have been without their usual explosive offense in a 2-5-1 stretch. Tampa Bay has scored one goal or fewer in six of the past eight games.
''We created a lot of chances,'' defenseman Anton Stralman said. ''He made some unbelievable saves. You can't take those away from him. However he saves them, he did it. Some of them, we definitely want back. It's just the way it goes for us right now.''
The Wild began the day fifth in the NHL in goals per game, but Parise was a big factor. Parise led the Wild and was tied for eighth in the NHL with seven goals. Parise had also been the emotional leader of the team since the Minnesota native signed with the team in 2012 as a free agent.
''We're going to miss him,'' Dubnyk said. ''There's no replacing what he brings to this team, there's no replacing him in the league, for that matter. It's an opportunity for each person to kind of step up their role in the lineup, and we're going to have to find ways to win while he's gone and count the days until he's back.''
Dubnyk gave the Wild a way to win without Parise.
The big netminder made several big saves, including a stop on Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov, who got behind the defense with a quick move in the third period. Dubnyk also stopped a shot from Steven Stamkos right in front in the final seconds.
Dubynk also had a bit of fortune on his side. Caught out of position in the second, Dubnyk slid across the crease and managed to get a piece of a point shot from Stralman.
''He was on,'' Yeo said. ''I don't want to say more aggressive, but he was almost attacking some of the shots tonight.''
The Lightning have resorted to altering their lines in an attempt to find offense. Stamkos, who leads the team with seven goals, started with Ondrej Palat and Valterri Filppula on his wings.
More changes were needed after Palat left the game in the second period with a lower-body injury and did not return. During a play by the Minnesota net, Wild forward Nino Niederreiter fell on Palat's left leg.
Cooper said there is concern Palat's injury could be more than day to day.
''When you see somebody like him go off the way he did, it's never encouraging,'' Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. ''Hopefully he's going to be OK. You don't want to lose anybody, but he's a big part of our team.''
NOTES: Minnesota is 11-12-1 without Parise in the lineup. ... Lightning F Jonathan Drouin returned to the lineup after missing five games with a lower-body injury. ... Pominville's assist was his first point at even strength in 10 games. He has six assists and has been held without a goal in 13 games this season. ... Wild F Christoph Bertschy made his NHL debut. Bertschy, a 2012 sixth-round pick by Minnesota, was sent back down to Iowa of the AHL after the game.
