Matt Cullen scored his first goal of the season on his 41st birthday and added an assist during Minnesota’s three-goal first period, giving the sputtering Wild a welcome spark on the way to a 6-3 victory Thursday night over the Montreal Canadiens.
Matt Dumba and Tyler Ennis also scored to send struggling Canadiens goalie Carey Price into the first intermission with a 3-0 deficit.
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Ryan Suter chipped in a second-period goal, and Jared Spurgeon scored on a power play for more insurance in the first minute of the third.
Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund each had two assists and Marcus Foligno added an empty-net goal for the Wild, who have won six straight games against the Canadiens while outscoring them 25-9.
Price, who stopped 21 shots by the Wild, gave up a staggering seven goals in the team’s last trip to Minnesota on Jan. 12.
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Brendan Gallagher scored twice and Andrew Shaw had one of two third-period goals for the Canadiens, who totalled 13 goals over their previous two games but still entered the night with the fourth-fewest goals per game (2.5) in the NHL.
Defence has been a problem for the Canadiens, too, with the third-most goals allowed per game (3.75) in the league coming into this game.
That’s despite the presence of Price, the five-time All-Star who was the Hart Trophy winner just three seasons ago as the MVP of the NHL.
— With files from The Associated Press
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