ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) Mikael Granlund had the second three-goal game of his career and Devan Dubnyk made 41 saves in his first start since Dec. 12 to help the Minnesota Wild beat the Nashville Predators 4-2 on Friday night.
Matt Dumba had a goal and assist for Minnesota, which has won two in a row coming out of the league's holiday break. Dumba scored the go-ahead goal, his seventh of the season, midway through the second period in the first game of a back-to-back, home-and-home series between the two teams.
Pekka Rinne made 34 saves, but Nashville lost for the fourth time in five games. P.K. Subban and Kyle Turris scored for the Predators.
Dubnyk made his return after missing six games with a lower-body injury. He wasn't tested much early as Nashville went the first 7:57 without a shot.
The Wild had the first 11 shots and Granlund scored 7:34 into the game to give Minnesota the early lead. Turris made a quick play to save a loose puck behind Rinne. But the errant pass went out to Dumba, who fed Granlund for a one-timer.
Rinne made several big saves to keep the game close before Subban tied the game with his eighth goal of the year in the first. Granlund added his 10th goal of the season less than a minute later on the power play for his third multi-goal game of the season.
Granlund scored an empty-net goal with 50.3 seconds for the hat trick.
The Wild set a season-high with 18 shots on goal in the first period. The Predators returned the favor with 18 shots in the second and held a 43-38 advantage in the game.
Minnesota (20-15-3) faced a critical stretch after the league's mandated holiday break with three games against divisional opponents. The Wild beat Dallas before the back-to-back against Nashville (22-10-5), which was leading the Central Division heading into Friday.
NOTES: Wild coach Bruce Boudreau left the bench with 5:44 left in the game, bleeding after taking a puck to the head. Assistant coach John Anderson took control for the remainder of the game. ... Zach Parise returned to Minnesota after a one-game conditioning assignment with Iowa of the American Hockey League. Parise has been out all season after undergoing back surgery on Oct. 24. He played 15:26 with one assist and one shot on goal for Iowa. ... Wild F Nino Niederreiter skated on Friday. He missed his third game with a lower-body injury. Boudreau was hopeful Niederreiter could return next week. . Nashville has been outshot 103-52 in the first period over the past seven games. ... Subban has four goals and five assists in his last eight games after going scoreless in seven straight.
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The two teams reunite for their home-and-home series Saturday in Nashville.
With his first shift of Friday night's contest against the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames forward Jaromir Jagr moved into sole possession of third place on the all-time regular-season games played list.
Jaromir Jagr of the @NHLFlames is skating in his 1,732nd career regular-season game and passed Ron Francis (1,731) for sole possession of third place on the NHL’s all-time list. #NHLStats#CGYvsANApic.twitter.com/h5floTqIj6
Jagr finds himself in elite company, moving past Ron Francis and now sitting behind Mark Messier and Gordie Howe with 1,732 regular-season games played.
Through 20 contests this season, the future Hall of Famer has one goal and six assists.
The club hung on to top the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 5-4, snapping a four-game losing streak. In the process, the Senators scored more than four goals in a game for the first time since Dec. 1 - a stretch of 13 games - when they bested the New York Islanders 6-5.
The Senators have been among the league's worst clubs over the last two months, sitting with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference, while averaging the sixth fewest goals per game.
The team will look to keep it going when it hosts the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
The outdoor game in Orchard Park, N.Y., between Team USA and Team Canada had it all on Friday.
Wintery scenes, frozen fans, and a high-stakes matchup between two bitter rivals that went down to the wire, providing a unique setting that allowed for some awesome photos from what was a special afternoon of hockey.
Here's a collection of some of the best photos from Canada versus USA at New Era Field:
Hockey in a football stadium, what more could you ask for on beautiful December day?
Plenty of solid end-to-end action, despite a snow-covered ice surface.
Carter Hart stood tall for Canada, but it wasn't enough, as the Americans won 4-3 in a shootout.
The cold temperatures didn't discriminate, affecting both Canadian and American supporters.
Team USA versus Team Canada is always a tight-checking affair, and Friday's contest did not disappoint.
Calgary Flames second-round pick and Team Canada captain Dillion Dube celebrates his first-period goal.
Happier times for the fans in red and white didn't last long, as the Canadians let a 3-1 lead slip away.
Lots of snow and cameramen in the corners at New Era Field.
With a world junior-record crowd of 44,592 on hand in Orchard Park, N.Y., Team USA edged Team Canada by a score of 4-3 in the tournament's first-ever outdoor game thanks to Kieffer Bellows' shootout winner.
The last time hockey was played at New Era Field, it ended in a shootout. The last time Canada and USA squared off at the world juniors, it also ended in a shootout. Predictably, a matchup between Canada and USA at New Era Field also needed a shootout to decide things.
The snow piled down as the game went on at New Era Field - home of the NFL's Buffalo Bills - making simple skills such as stickhandling and passing increasingly difficult. It didn't seem to matter for Bellows though, who also scored his team's first goal of the game.
Sabres' first-round pick Casey Mittelstadt didn't seem to mind the conditions either, as he picked up three assists in the contest.
Special teams were the difference in the first period. Avalanche fourth overall pick Cale Makar notched a power-play tally for Canada less than five minutes into the game following a high-sticking penalty to USA's Dylan Samberg.
Later in the first, Canada once again struck with the man advantage, this time coming off the stick of captain Dillon Dube following Mikey Anderson's holding the stick penalty.
Canada itself took three minor penalties in the period, but escaped unscathed.
Canada's penalty trouble finally caught up to them, however, as Bellows got the Americans on the board with a 5-on-3 goal late in the second.
It didn't take long for the Canadians to respond, though, as Boris Katchouk tipped home Jake Bean's point shot.
In a game between two fierce rivals, there was no shortage of post-whistle scrums. The physicality of the game escalated after Canada's Maxime Comtois leveled American defenseman Ryan Lindgren from behind early in the third period, causing a kerfuffle. This may have been the turning point.
Special teams continued to be an ongoing factor, as Scott Perunovich capitalized on Comtois' penalty, scoring off a sweet give-and-go with Mittelstadt.
Shortly thereafter, Brady Tkachuk notched the equalizing goal to make it 3-3. It wasn't the first time a guy named Brady propelled a comeback at New Era Field.
The U.S. outshot Canada 35-22.
In the shootout, the Americans scored on their first two attempts, while Canada was blanked on all four of their attempts by Dallas Stars prospect Jake Oettinger.
Canada will play Denmark on Saturday, while the United States will battle Finland on Sunday.
A major traffic disruption on the Canadian side of the U.S.-Canada border caused major headaches for fans traveling to the first outdoor game in the history of the World Junior Championship, played between Canada and the United States.
Reports surfaced that the Penguins could consider moving the blue-liner in an effort to shake things up, with the club currently sitting three points outside of a playoff spot.
However, according to Yohe, it does not appear Letang will be used as the bargaining chip to improve the Penguins. The defenseman sits fourth in team scoring with 25 points in 37 games.
With the Feb. 26 trade deadline approaching, general manager Jim Rutherford has little time to fix a club that has won the last two Stanley Cups. Should the Penguins miss the postseason, they'll be the first defending champions to do so since the Los Angeles Kings failed to qualify in 2015.
As for Letang, he was placed on injured reserve Thursday with a lower-body ailment. The injury-riddled blue-liner missed the entirety of the playoffs last season after he underwent neck surgery.
This year was a compelling one in the hockey world for a handful of reasons.
From international intrigue to new domestic frontiers, and from controversial new officiating protocol to trade talk that just wouldn't die, some of 2017's most talked-about subjects were previously unforeseen, while others were all too familiar.
Here are five things that consumed hockey in 2017:
The Olympics
The NHL made it clear in April that it will not take part in the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, much to the chagrin of fans and some of the league's biggest names.
Plenty of other players chimed in, too, both before and after the league made its stance official. Following the announcement, Tyler Seguin admitted he was heartbroken, and Jonathan Toews said the ramifications of the decision could lead to a lockout in 2022.
That left many to wonder whether the KHL would follow through on its threat to prohibit players of all nationalities who play in the Russian-based league from suiting up in Pyeongchang, and that cloud of uncertainty could hover over these Olympics when the calendar flips to 2018.
Expansion
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
Expanding the NHL was a huge storyline this year, both in terms of the league's foray into a tantalizing and previously untapped market and its acknowledgement that another long-speculated potential future NHL city was being allowed to apply for a franchise.
The city of Las Vegas intrigued the hockey world long before the Vegas Golden Knights existed, but the league's 31st franchise took shape in 2017. The expansion draft in June - which featured some unprecedented rules - stirred a ton of debate among fans and undoubtedly caused headaches for opposing teams' general managers.
Those GMs had to agree to some questionable side deals to ensure many of their best players wouldn't be chosen by the Golden Knights, so Vegas general manager George McPhee had all the power, and he was quickly able to build what we've now seen is a legitimately competitive club.
The newcomers continued to be a major talking point well into the fall by setting numerous records in the first few months of their inaugural season.
Arguably the most important hockey story of the year didn't come on the men's side.
The U.S. women's national hockey team's fight for better wages and conditions dominated headlines and transcended sport in the lead-up to the Women's World Championship on American soil in the spring.
The players allowed a USA Hockey-imposed deadline to pass without relenting, ultimately forcing the organization to increase its funding and support of the women's program.
The Americans won the Women's World Championship in Michigan with an overtime win over Canada in the gold-medal game, an impressive accomplishment in its own right, but the U.S. women's team's more significant legacy will be the courage the players showed standing up to perceived injustice and the progress they made off the ice.
Matt Duchene
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
The reports and ensuing speculation persisted for months, and when the deal was finally consummated, it had an unexpected wrinkle.
Duchene was, at long last, traded by the Colorado Avalanche in early November, and it took three teams to get it done. The talented center was shipped to the Ottawa Senators and Kyle Turris went from Canada's capital to Music City, giving the Nashville Predators some center depth of their own in a swap that also included several prospects and draft picks.
The Duchene saga dragged on throughout most of 2017, though, with the Senators' interest in him dating back to February, when Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion first acknowledged talking to the Avalanche, then escalating in September when the Senators reportedly ramped up their pursuit.
There was also a failed first attempt at a three-way deal by the same trio of clubs that ultimately succeeded, and teams like the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Boston Bruins reportedly looked into landing Duchene over the summer before Colorado finally found a package to its liking.
The Flames' arena situation
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
One saga that had an impact beyond hockey in 2017 was the Calgary Flames' dispute with local lawmakers over their hypothetical future home, and the fate of their current one, the Scotiabank Saddledome.
The conflict escalated after the club's much ballyhooed "CalgaryNEXT" project fell apart, and soon directly pitted the Flames' ownership group against Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, who repeatedly insisted taxpayers were unwilling to pay for a new facility.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who in the past said the league doesn't get political, thrust himself into the impasse as well, threatening that there would be "consequences" without a deal for a new arena.
The Flames made a stunning statement in September, announcing they were no longer pursuing a new facility to replace the oldest non-renovated building in the league.
Calgary's arena squabble became the biggest issue in the October mayoral election, which the incumbent Nenshi won, ensuring that the saga likely won't be resolved without more of a commitment from the Flames' owners.
Minnesota Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk will start Friday against the Nashville Predators after missing two weeks with a lower-body injury, head coach Bruce Boudreau confirmed.
Dubnyk has been out since Dec. 8, at which time he was labeled week to week with the ailment.
Alex Stalock has held down the crease in his absence, posting a 5-4-0 record while maintaining a season-long .915 save percentage.
Dubnyk has a .916 save percentage, backstopping the team to a 12-8-2 record in 23 appearances.
League sources indicated Wednesday the most popular Senators players if Dorion wanted to trade remained the likes of winger Mike Hoffman, centres Derick Brassard and Jean-Gabriel Pageau and defenceman Cody Ceci.
Several teams are believed to be interested in Hoffman, with the St. Louis Blues reportedly emerging as the most serious suitors.
Karlsson can become an unrestricted free agent in 2019, and his availability may change if it appears less likely he re-signs with the team.
One name that's not mentioned in the list of players who are off-limits is Matt Duchene, who was acquired in a blockbuster trade earlier this season and is also set to reach UFA status in 2019.
