NHL: Wild shut out Blackhawks

ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild’s recent winning ways continued on their home rink Tuesday.
Centers Mikko Koivu and Mikael Granlund and left winger Jason Zucker all scored, and goalie Devan Dubnyk had 24 saves for his third shutout since joining the team as the Wild won their fourth in a row, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0.
Chicago got 40 saves from goalie Corey Crawford, but could not muster any offense and lost their second in a row. The Blackhawks have now gone more than 126 minutes without a goal, after they were blanked 2-0 in San Jose on Saturday.
Playing in his 200th NHL game, Dubnyk, who was acquired by the Wild in a trade with the Coyotes last month, improved to 6-1-0 since coming to Minnesota.
Minnesota emerged from the first period with a two-shot advantage and a two-goal advantage after Koivu and Zucker both got backhand shots past Crawford.
Koivu had his initial backhander stopped by the goalie, with a crowd around him, and the Wild captain had trouble corralling the rebound. But got a handle on the puck just in time to lift it from the top of the crease past the goalie’s right arm and into the back of the net.
Exactly halfway through the opening period, defenseman Marco Scandella delivered a long lead pass that sprung Zucker on a breakaway from the blue line in. Zucker made a quick stickhandling move as he approached the net from the right, switching to his backhand and flipping a shot into the upper right corner.
The Blackhawks had all they could do to hold on in the second period, emerging down 3-0 in a 20-minute span that could have been much worse. Minnesota had 51 seconds of 5-on-3 power play that Chicago killed, and the Wild got just one goal, despite out-shooting the Blackhawks 24-5 in the period.
The third Wild goal came in the second period when left winger Zach Parise stopped a clearing attempt along the boards then fed a pass to Granlund in the high slot. Granlund blasted a slap shot that was past Crawford before the goalie could react. It was the first goal by Granlund since returning from the injured list. He missed 13 games in December and January with a wrist ailment.
NOTES: Wild F Justin Fontaine, who missed Minnesota’s 4-2 win on Sunday in Vancouver due to a groin injury, was placed on injured reserve by the team on Tuesday. In his place, Minnesota recalled C Jordan Schroeder from their AHL affiliate in Iowa. ... The Blackhawks, who last played Saturday night in a 2-0 road loss to the San Jose Sharks, spent two days in Las Vegas prior to their arrival in Minnesota on Monday. ... Blackhawks LW Daniel Carcillo did not play on Tuesday despite being eligible to return to the ice. Carcillo served a six-game NHL suspension for cross-checking Winnipeg Jets F Mathieu Perrault on Jan. 16 during a game in Chicago. ... After spending the past 15 days away from home, the Wild are playing five of six games at home. They get a three-day break before hosting the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday. Chicago, in the midst of a season-long seven-game road trip, will next visit the Jets on Friday.