Wild shut out Bruins, win on late goal

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Mikael Granlund scored with 44.5 seconds left to give the Minnesota Wild a 1-0 win against the Boston Bruins at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.
"The last seven minutes, it looked like both teams were playing for overtime," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "I was very pleasantly surprised. You know, [Granlund's] very creative, and he had maybe three chances in that last shift, and I guess sometimes they shine on you and you get a chance to win the game."
Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves, and Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask made 28. The goal went in off the leg of Boston defenseman Adam McQuaid after Granlund attempted a pass in front.

WATCH: All Bruins vs. Wild highlights
"That's why I always pass," Granlund said with a smile. "There were really good goalies out there and good defensive teams. It's going to be a close one and I'm glad we got one at the end."

It is the second time this season Dubnyk shut out the Bruins (5-0 Oct. 25) and is his League-leading fourth this season. Dubnyk (1.60) was second to Rask (1.54) in goals-against average. His .952 save percentage also leads the NHL.
"It's got to be tough on our goalies," Boudreau said. "We're not scoring a lot of goals. Mind you, we're trying to score … but [our goalies] have been so good, mostly Duby, but Kuemps [Darcy Kuemper] in Ottawa was outstanding as well. "You keep waiting for it, but hopefully we don't exhaust them out in practice and they can stay mentally into the games."
Boston appeared to take the lead at 14:36 of the second period with a goal deflected in by David Backes. Boudreau challenged, and it was determined the Bruins were offside.

Goal of the game

Granlund's goal was his third of the season and third this month.

Save of the game

Rask robbed a wide-open Jason Pominville with a glove grab at 18:34 of the second period.

Unsung moment of the game

Bruins defenseman Torey Krug took a shot from the point that was deflected by Backes for a Boston goal that was nullified by replay.

Highlight of the game

Dubnyk came out to meet Bruins forward Matt Beleskey on a breakaway at 5:56 of the third period and poked the puck away. "It's a situational play," Dubnyk said. "I've had a couple of them this year. He's the only guy there. You have to read that there's none of their players that can get the puck after because I'm well out of position after that. And he's got to be a left-handed shot coming down at somewhat of an angle. And I had to time it. It's been working, so I've got to stay sharp on the timing."

They said it

"We scored a goal on him, it just didn't count." -- Bruins coach Claude Julien on being shut out twice by Dubnyk
"Both goalies were outstanding. We thought we had the bounce and it turns out it's called back, and they get the bounce with less than a minute left, and no shootout." -- Bruins forward David Backes
"It's been tough offensively for us. I think we just want to keep shooting, keep throwing the puck at the net. The one [goal] we get, it wasn't even a shot, that's the way it goes." - forward Zach Parise on Minnesota's scoring struggles

Need to know

Boston's win streak ended at three. … Minnesota has allowed an NHL-low 29 goals this season, and its 1.81 goals-against average leads the League.

What's next

Wild: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N+, ALT, NHL.TV)
Bruins: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN, NESN, NHL.TV)