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National Hockey League
Minnesota 3, Nashville 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Referees: Gord Dwyer, T.J. Luxmore
Linesmen: Derek Amell, Michel Cormier
Attendance: 17141

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It doesn't seem to matter what kind of game the Minnesota Wild play, where they play it or even how they get there.

All they do is win, and their franchise-record winning streak reached 11 in dramatic fashion Tuesday night.

Defenseman Jared Spurgeon converted Jordan Schroeder's slick cross-ice pass into the game-winner at 2:46 of overtime as Minnesota subdued the Nashville Predators 3-2 at Bridgestone Arena.

Moments after Devan Dubnyk (18-6-3) made the last of his 28 saves on a Colin Wilson backhander, the Wild recorded their third post-regulation victory of the streak that started Dec. 4 at Edmonton. Rushing down the right side, Schroeder slid the puck to Spurgeon, who snapped a shot from the left faceoff circle past Pekka Rinne on the stick side.

"Jordan made a nice play," Spurgeon said after tallying just his third goal of the season. "I just tried to stay ready."

The goal capped a long day for Minnesota (22-8-4) that started early Tuesday morning with a game-day flight that because of delays didn't arrive in Nashville until 10:45 a.m., just over eight hours before the opening faceoff.

Yet the Wild didn't appear to suffer from their unusual travel rigors, outshooting the Predators 39-30 and winning 60 percent of the faceoffs.

"Kind of different from our spoiled ways," Minnesota left winger Zach Parise said with a laugh. "You look at that first game after Christmas and hope it's at home. That's a lot of travel on a game day, but we were able to come down here and play a good game."

Minnesota could have easily won in regulation were it not for Rinne (13-9-5), who stopped 36 shots, 13 in a busy third period that enabled Nashville to earn a point.

Rinne denied Matt Dumba on no fewer than three quality chances in the third period. He also got help from defenseman Ryan Ellis, whose body-length dive kept Dumba from cashing in a rebound during a late power play.

However, there was nothing Rinne could do on the game's final play, one that dropped the Predators to 1-6 in games decided after regulation this season. Since the start of last season, Nashville has lost 20 games following regulation.

"I don't know," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said about the overtime troubles. "It's not good enough."

Parise started the scoring at 5:53 of the first period, tipping home Dumba's point blast with 10 seconds remaining in a power play. It was the sixth goal for Parise and the highlight of a period that saw the Wild create a 12-5 advantage in shots on goal.

Nashville (15-13-6) created some push-back early in the second period and got on the board at 4:39 when Filip Forsberg snuck a wrister from the high slot off the right post and by Dubnyk. It was Forsberg's third goal in the past four games and sixth goal of the season.

Minnesota regained the lead 82 seconds later as Chris Stewart converted Eric Staal's pass from behind the net into his sixth goal of the year.

The Predators equalized again at 8:55 when Reid Boucher converted a breakaway on the backhand for his first goal in just his second game with the team.

Nashville did generate some good looks in between the Wild's steady pressure in the third period. Forsberg and James Neal combined for five shots at Dubnyk, including Neal's tip try with just over four minutes left that Dubnyk managed to smother.

But Dubnyk didn't allow anything else into the net, extending his streak of games allowing two or fewer goals to 10 games. And in overtime, Schroeder, playing just his fifth game of the season, set up Spurgeon to continue the team's unprecedented roll.

"I thought we made some mistakes early, but the last 10 minutes, we played a real good road game," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We persevered, and that's why we won."

NOTES: Minnesota LW Zach Parise (strep throat) and C Erik Haula (lower-body injury) returned to the lineup after two- and three-game absences, respectively. ... Nashville D P.K. Subban (upper-body injury) sat out his fifth straight game and was scheduled to meet with doctors Tuesday night concerning the injury that has kept him out since Dec. 17. ... The Wild scratched D Nate Prosser and RW Kurtis Gabriel. ... The Predators' scratches were D Adam Pardy and C Colton Sissons.
Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Nashville
Charlie Coyle 2 Points Reid Boucher 1
Zach Parise 1 Goals Reid Boucher 1
Charlie Coyle 2 Assists Mattias Ekholm 1
Zach Parise 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Devan Dubnyk .933 Save Percentage Pekka Rinne .923
Devan Dubnyk 28 Saves Pekka Rinne 36
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Minnesota 39 3 1-4 1-1 2 37
Nashville 30 2 0-1 3-4 8 25
Upcoming Games
  • Nashville will play their next game at home against Chicago. The Predators have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .526 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Wild have a W/L % of .682 after a win and .583 after a loss.