ST. PAUL, Minn. _ It looked like the puck was going to disappear in Predators goalie Pekka Rinne's glove and join the legions of other shots that had been gobbled up this season by one of the NHL's best in the blue.
Instead, Rinne bobbled the puck _ an error on the catcher that triggered a game of pinball before Wild winger Nino Niederreiter hit jackpot when he slung it into the twine, the deciding goal in a significant 4-1 win over the Predators Saturday in front of a season-high 19,303 at Xcel Energy Center that secured coach Bruce Boudreau's 500th career victory.
Boudreau, 63, is the second-fastest all time to reach the milestone (837 games) and quickest among active NHL bench bosses. He also became the 26th NHL coach to achieve the distinction.
How Boudreau earned that accolade was also memorable.
In their return to action after a four-day layoff, a rarity for March, the Wild erased an early hole and rallied against the Western-Conference leading Predators, who skated mostly as-advertised _ a Stanley Cup contender difficult to decode but still a solvable riddle.
Nashville flexed that prowess in the first when it opened the scoring. Defenseman P.K. Subban set up center Ryan Johansen for a one-timer and although goalie Devan Dubnyk blocked the attempt, he couldn't reposition himself to stop Johansen's second try on the rebound 8 minutes, 37 seconds into the period.
In time, though, the Wild started to find a rhythm and just 2:50 into the second, the fourth line capitalized when center Joel Eriksson Ek buried a loose puck in front for his second goal in as many games.
The Wild continued to pressure Rinne on an ensuing power play, with center Eric Staal getting a stellar look from the slot that Rinne snagged with his glove.
That glove, though, wasn't as effective later in the period.
Not long after another power play for the Wild expired (the team finished 0 for 4 with the man advantage, while the Predators were 0 for 2), Rinne couldn't keep defenseman Ryan Murphy's throw from the half boards in his glove. The puck bounced into the slot and after winger Jason Zucker's shot was turned aside by Rinne, Niederreiter was situated at the back post to redirect the rebound in at 13:45 for his 18th goal of the season.
In the third, the Wild received an important insurance tally from Zucker _ his 30th of the season _ after Zucker stuffed the puck in at the near post at 1:29. By reaching the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career, Zucker became the sixth Wild player in team history to score at least that many in a season.
And with center Eric Staal on the brink of 40 goals, this is only the fourth time the Wild has had a pair of 30-goal scorers in the same season.
Winger Zach Parise added an empty-netter with 1:40 to go. Rinne finished with 26 saves, and Dubnyk had 19.
Not only did the win reinstate a two-point cushion for the Wild over the Avalanche for the third spot in the Central Division, but it had to be a boost of confidence that the team can hang with the Predators.
The two will face off again Tuesday in Nashville and if the Wild clinches a postseason berth like the Predators have, there's always the possibility these two reconvene when the stakes are much higher.
