TORONTO – Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk added to his ironman streak and the Wild extended their string of road wins to nine, hanging on for a 2-1 victory over slumping Toronto on Monday night.
The loss was the sixth straight for the Maple Leafs (27-41-6), who came close several times to tying it in a late comeback and deserved better on the night.
Charlie Coyle and Thomas Vanek scored for Minnesota (41-25-7), which has gone 23-6-2 since acquiring Dubnyk on Jan. 14.
Toronto defenceman Jake Gardiner made it interesting with 6:24 remaining, tapping in the puck after a Joffrey Lupul slapshot trickled through Dubnyk’s legs. Lupul had gone 17 games without a point.
The game marked the 32nd consecutive start for Dubnyk, who can add to that streak Tuesday against the Islanders. The 32nd straight starts – one of which came while Dubnyk was with Arizona – are the most by an NHL goalie since Anaheim’s Jonas Hiller did it (Jan. 12 to March 18, 2012).
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Antti Niemi started 34 games in a row for San Jose from Jan. 15 to April 4, 2011.
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