Wild score four in final seven minutes to defeat Predators

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild scored four times in the final 6:56 and defeated the Nashville Predators 6-4 at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

WATCH: [All Predators vs. Wild highlights]
"You can't be satisfied with playing 30 minutes a game because it's going to come up and bite you as the season goes along," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "But … they can't all be Picasso's either. It shows great character to be able to come back and all of a sudden do that. It makes people believe, or the team, I think, believe that they're capable of doing it."

Ryan Suter deflected a shot by Jared Spurgeon at 13:04 to make it 4-3, Eric Staal tied it 4-4 at 15:01, and Jason Zucker scored his eighth goal in a five-game goal streak at 17:05 to put the Wild ahead 5-4. Spurgeon scored into an empty net at 18:53.
Minnesota (9-7-2) won its fourth in a row. Devan Dubnyk made 26 saves but his three-game shutout streak ended.
The Predators (10-6-2) had a five-game winning streak end.
"We stopped playing after 20 minutes," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. "We took penalties. We stopped skating. You stop skating, you start hooking, you go to the box. Again, 20 minutes of hockey. We left 40 somewhere else."
Ryan Johansen scored his first goal of the season 49 seconds into the first period to end Dubnyk's streak. He made 107 saves and had not allowed a goal in 195:54, an NHL career high and Wild record.
"Obviously it was a point of emphasis to get to [Dubnyk] and get as many shots as we could," Johansen said. "We set the tone really well tonight, had a great start. We just need to stick to our game plan like we did in the first, and the third [we] got away from it."

Roman Josi took a slap shot through traffic to make it 2-0 at 5:31 of the second period. Boudreau challenged for goaltender interference by Viktor Arvidsson, but video review determined none occurred.
Mattias Ekholm picked off Zucker at 12:47 of the second period for an unassisted shorthanded goal and a 3-0 lead. It was the first shorthanded goal allowed by Minnesota this season.
Staal won a draw back to Jonas Brodin, who passed to Dumba for a 3-1 score at 16:16.
Nino Niederreiter appeared to cut the lead to 3-2 42 seconds later, poking the puck over the line past Pekka Rinne, but video review overturned the goal call on the ice, determining Niederreiter batted the puck into the net with his hand.
Niederreiter scored a power-play goal with 39 seconds remaining in the second to make it 3-2. Arvidsson scored into the corner 57 seconds into the third period to make it 4-2.
"I think it proves in sports you have to play with emotion," Boudreau said. "I mean, the last 25 minutes, we were emotionally into it and it's amazing what emotion does. The first 35 minutes we weren't and it showed."

Goal of the game

Staal's goal at 15:01 of the third period.

Save of the game

Dubnyk's glove save on Ekholm at 7:29 of the first period.

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Highlight of the game

Zucker's goal at 17:05 of the third period.

They said it

"I think our mindset's got to be to get the next goal. You can't sit back. Teams are too good. If you sit back, they're going to make you pay. We [have] to make sure we play with the same intensity and try to get that next goal." -- Predators captain Roman Josi on the third-period letdown

"You just feel like it's going to come. You just feel like, everyone on the bench and probably the people watching, you just feel like you're going get that break and that chance and it's going to go in. … It was nice, it was nice to come in and keep playing. We showed a lot of what you want to see out of our group to stay with it and secure a big two points in our division in regulation, so a lot of good things. So, bottle it up and look forward to a tough game in Washington." -- Wild forward Eric Staal on the third-period momentum

Need to know

Forsberg has five points (one goal, four assists) in the past three games. … Staal has nine points (three goals, six assists) in the past six games. … The Wild are 17-for-17 on the penalty kill in the past five games and lead the NHL with a 94.4 penalty killing percent (34-of-36) since Oct. 24. They are 4-for-39 (10.3 percent) on the power play in those 12 games.

What's next

Wild: At the Washington Capitals on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, FS-N, NHL.TV
Predators: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, ALT, NHL.TV)