Dubnyk, Wild shut out Blackhawks in fifth straight loss

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Devan Dubnyk made 44 saves for the Minnesota Wild in a 3-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday.

The shutout was Dubnyk's fourth of the season, the first since he had three straight from Nov. 9-14 (3-0 at the Montreal Canadiens; 1-0 at the Philadelphia Flyers; 3-0 against the Flyers).
"Yeah, there's no getting around it; that was a huge game for us," Dubnyk said. "Every game is big points-wise, but this was a big opportunity against a team behind us to put them further behind us. We have to] take these opportunities when we can and that was a good one tonight."
***[\[WATCH: All Blackhawks vs. Wild highlights\]*
Chicago (24-23-8) lost its season-high fifth straight game. The Blackhawks are 2-7-2 in the past 11 games and have scored two goals or fewer in 10 of their past 13.
"Again, I'm running out of words to say," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. "It's pretty much like the last bunch of games. I think we're outshooting teams but the quality chances aren't there, the second efforts aren't there, the traffic isn't there. It's frustrating. It's simple. We know what we [have to] do, it's right there in front of us."
Charlie Coyle scored twice, and Mikko Koivu scored for Minnesota (30-19-6), which is 10 points ahead of Chicago for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.

"I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win," Coyle said. "If I get the chance to do it, I'm going to try to put [the puck] in. I'm just going to try to play my game and do what's necessary for the team."
Coyle deflected a shot by Zach Parise 1:58 into the first period for a 1-0 lead. Koivu redirected a slap shot by Matt Dumba 37 seconds into a power play to make it 2-0 at 6:31.

Coyle's second goal was his 200th NHL point. He combined with Parise on a 2-on-1 for a 3-0 lead at 2:22 of the second period.
Blackhawks goaltender Jeff Glass made 16 saves.
"It's an environment that we're not accustomed to and we're trying to remain positive," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "That's where we're at, and I think that's what we're dealing with."

Goal of the game

Koivu's goal at 6:31 of the first period.

Save of the game

Dubnyk's save on Jordan Oesterle at 15:32 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Coyle's goal at 2:22 of the second period.

They said it

"Well it's surely getting smaller, we know that. We're well aware of the situation. As we said all along, we [have to] focus on our job and that's what we're [going to] keep doing." -- Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews on their playoff window
"We came out with a lot of energy. Then like we always do [with] a lead ... we get cute. We tried to defend it instead of trying to go after it. That's why our third-period goals against is what it is. … We seem to let our foot off the gas and try to defend that way. We're going to have to push forward a little bit more." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau

Need to know

Dubnyk's 44 saves were the second most in a shutout in Wild history behind Niklas Backstrom's 48 (Feb. 19, 2012; 2-0 against the Boston Bruins). … Blackhawks defenseman Carl Dahlstrom had one shot on goal in 16:48 in his NHL debut. … Chicago held Minnesota without a shot on goal for 13:29 in the first period. … Parise extended his assist streak to three games. … The Wild are 9-0-3 in their past 12 home games.

What's next

Blackhawks: At the Arizona Coyotes on Monday (9 p.m. ET; FS-A PLUS, NBCSCH, NHL.TV)
Wild: Host the New York Rangers on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N+, MSG, NHL.TV)