Postgame Hat Trick: Wild 3, Lightning 0

Wild.com's Dan Myers gives three takeaways from the Wild's 3-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Thursday night:

1. Minnesota dealt Tampa Bay its first regulation loss in nearly two months.
The Lightning entered the night 17 points clear of the next best team in the NHL and had lost just five times in regulation at Amalie Arena all season. But the Wild put forth one of its best 60-minute efforts of the season in downing the Lightning in Tampa for the first time in more than eight years -- Nov. 14, 2010 (five games).
The victory extended the Wild's points streak to eight games (6-0-2) and moved -- at least briefly -- the Wild into the top wild card position in the Western Conference, pending the result of the Dallas Stars' game against the Colorado Avalanche.
2. Jason Zucker tallied his second career NHL hat trick.
After watching his five-game points streak end Tuesday night in Nashville, Zucker started anew by deflecting a Ryan Donato shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy 10:50 into the first period, giving the Wild a 1-0 lead.

The three-goal night moved Zucker to 20 goals on the season, the fourth time he's reached 20 goals in a season. He also has six goals in his past six games and is all of the sudden, starting to look more and more like the guy who set a career high with 33 goals last season.
Ryan Donato had a pair of assists on the night, getting the original helpers on each of Zucker's first two goals.

3. Devan Dubnyk was really, really good.
He got plenty of help in the form of blocked shots, sticks in lanes and clearing attempts in front. Minnesota also killed both of Tampa Bay's power plays, which entered the night ranked first in the League at 30 percent on the season.
But Dubnyk was good when he needed to be as well.
Late in the second period, Anthony Cirelli had a breakaway chance that Dubnyk stopped in ... unorthodox ... fashion, throwing out a poke check. Cirelli telegraphed the move but fired the puck right into Dubnyk's mask, where the Wild goaltender was able to cover.
It was just the second time this season Tampa Bay has been shutout. For Dubnyk, it was his second shutout of the season and 31st of his NHL career. He finished with 25 saves.