Devan Dubnyk, Wild hold off Maple Leafs

TORONTO-- Devan Dubnyk made 35 saves for the Minnesota Wild in a 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday.
Dubnyk made 17 saves in the third period to preserve the win in his 300th NHL start.
"If [Devan] was in Toronto, there'd be no Carey Price, I'm just saying media-wise," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said of the attention Dubnyk would receive. "I mean, he hasn't allowed more than three goals in any game he's played this year, he's held us in all the time, and they had 17-3 or something shots in the third period and they didn't get any (goals)."

Eric Staal's first goal since Nov. 10, a span of 13 games, gave Minnesota a 3-1 lead 1:15 into the second period. He received a pass from Charlie Coyle and put a shot past Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen for his sixth of the season and 799th NHL point.
WATCH: All Wild vs. Maple Leafs highlights
"That was a good forecheck," Staal said. "Our line, when we're successful, we're spending time in the other team's end using the back of the net, using our bodies and strength, and Charlie did a great job on the forecheck and I was the beneficiary of taking it out to the front."
The Wild (13-8-4) finished 2-1-2 on a five-game road trip. The Maple Leafs (10-10-5) have lost three straight.
Jason Zucker gave the Wild a 1-0 lead 8:42 into the first period. Wild captain Mikko Koivu forced a turnover by Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri behind the net and passed to Mikael Granlund. He tapped the puck to Zucker, who shot past Andersen for his fourth goal.
Chris Stewart gave the Wild a 2-0 lead with 5:38 left in the first period when he received a pass from Jared Spurgeon and scored on a breakaway against Andersen for his fourth goal.

"It's great that you're spreading out on a breakout when you've got a clean puck, that means you're under control, but when it's a 50-50 puck you can't be leaving each other," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "For whatever reason, we haven't had one of those since I can't even remember."
Maple Leafs forward Ben Smith made it 2-1 at 16:50 when he put a rebound of a Kadri shot past Dubnyk for his second goal.
Maple Leafs center Tyler Bozak made it 3-2 with 9:06 left in the second period when he skated around Wild defenseman Matt Dumba and put a backhand over Dubnyk's glove.
"Just kind of got a loose puck and their [defenseman] was flat-footed," Bozak said. "I was lucky enough to get around and put it in."

Goal of the game

Bozak's sixth of the season was unassisted as he got by Dumba and beat Dubnyk.

Save of the game

Andersen stopped Koivu alone in front 17 seconds before Bozak scored.

Highlight of the game

Dubnyk's save against Connor Brown with 1:06 left in the third period helped preserve the win.

Unsung performance of the game

Wild defenseman Nate Prosser played 14:01, least among Minnesota defensemen, but blocked a shot by Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner in the closing seconds.

They said it

"It's been a long grind. This is a long trip, we gutted it out; I like that we did. We've got a veteran team and we've got guys that understand what it takes certain nights, and tonight was a certain night where we had to gut it out, and kudos to a lot of guys that stepped up into big spots to make big plays defensively. That's a big win; we go home now feeling good and hopefully start a good stretch at home." -- Wild center Eric Staal

"I told the guys, 'It may not look it, but my insides are really happy right now.' We held on, I mean, we didn't do anything in the third period, but at the end of an 11-day trip to win in a tough building to win in, it was pretty good." -- Wild coach Bruce Boudreau
"We've done lots of good things, really good things, but I'm no different than you people or the fans. I get greedy, I want to be better. We want to be better. We look like we've got a bunch of kids that know they're good little players; we've got to find a way to win every night. We've got to be better, that's the reality of the situation. We've hung in there just fine, but we need to have a segment coming up. That's all there is to it." -- Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock

Need to know

The Maple Leafs had 87 shot attempts; the Wild had 41. … Babcock said he expected defenseman Martin Marincin to play, but he wasn't able to because of the flu. … The Wild recalled forward Teemu Pulkkinen on Wednesday, but he was a healthy scratch. … Linesman Steve Miller left the game after being hit by a puck 14 seconds into the third period.

What's next

Wild: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Friday (8 p.m. ET; FS-N, SNW, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs: At the Boston Bruins on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, NHLN, NESN, NHL.TV)