Parise, Wild avoid third straight loss with win against Canadiens

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Zach Parise broke a tie with 7:06 remaining in the third period, and the Minnesota Wild avoided a third straight loss with a 4-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday.

Parise gave the Wild the lead when he redirected Jason Zucker's long pass from inside the right point at the left face-off circle for his third goal of the season.
Zucker, Marcus Foligno and Brad Hunt also scored for Minnesota (2-6-0). Devan Dubnyk made 30 saves for his first win of the season.
WATCH: [All Canadiens vs. Wild highlights]
"We need to remember this feeling," Zucker said. "This feels great. … We've got to make sure that we remember this feeling and make sure we want to get it back."
Phillip Danault had two goals and Tomas Tatar also scored for Montreal (4-3-2), which failed to win its third in a row. Keith Kinkaid made 29 saves for the Canadiens, who played the second game of a back-to-back after a 5-2 victory at the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
"Kinkaid] was, by far, our best player tonight," Montreal coach Claude Julien said. "The first period, if it wasn't for him, the game might have been over. But he stood tall and made some big saves and gave us a chance here tonight."
Zucker, who
[apologized to Wild coach Bruce Boudreau on Saturday
for comments made Thursday following a team meeting, scored a power-play goal when he redirected Mikko Koivu's shot at 8:57 of the first period for the 1-0 lead. It was Zucker's third goal of the season.

"You can talk and say the right things every day of the week, [but] until you come out and you play and you do those things, it doesn't matter," Zucker said.
The Canadiens took a 2-1 lead on goals 16 seconds apart. Tatar scored on the power play at 2:50 of the second period before Danault capitalized on a rebound at 3:06.

The Wild have allowed two goals in under two minutes in seven of eight games, including in each of their six losses.
Foligno tied the game 2-2 when he scored on a rebound at 19:45 of the second period.
"It was a different feeling for us [when they scored two quick goals]," Zucker said. "It wasn't like we were playing poorly and it as just a matter of time until they scored; we were playing really well. … So yeah, we just stuck with it. It was great."
Danault's second goal of the game gave the Canadiens a 3-2 lead at 3:22 of the third. Brendan Gallagher had an assist for his 300th NHL point.
Hunt tied it with a power-play goal at 8:38 to make it 3-3. It was his third goal of the season.

"It's a good group," Boudreau said. "I've always said that it's a group that cares. These guys care. It'd be great if we could put a little string [of wins] together."

They said it

"We knew [Minnesota was] a good team. I don't think they needed that reminder. We know how hard it is to play in this building; it hasn't been a place where we've had a lot of success. We knew it wasn't going to be an easy night. It kind of just came down to them finding a way to put one more in the net than we did in the third period, and they get two points. We've got to go home and obviously correct that." -- Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher
"It's big. We have a lot of work left, but I think this stuff can help. A win like tonight and the way we did it can really kind of boost your spirits a bit. The guys are happy again. It's good to see some smiles on guys faces. But we know it's right back to practice tomorrow and we have to start playing more of a 60-minute effort like we did tonight." -- Wild forward Marcus Foligno

Need to know

Gallagher has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games. … With an assist, Canadiens forward Max Domi has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past nine games. … Montreal defenseman Cale Fleury returned after missing the game Saturday because of an undisclosed injury. … Canadiens forward Joel Armia, who sustained a lower-body injury during warmups Saturday, missed his second straight game. … All three of Zucker's goals have been scored on the power play. … Boudreau got his 542nd NHL win and tied Billy Reay for 23rd on the all-time list.

What's next

Canadiens: Host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, NBCSCA, NHL.TV)
Wild: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, FS-WI, SNOL, NHL.TV)