PHILADELPHIA _ At some point, someone other than Jason Zucker is bound to score a goal for the Wild. Just not Saturday, when Zucker scored his sixth in a row to lead the Wild past Philadelphia, 1-0, at Wells Fargo Center.
Zucker has scored all six of the Wild's goals in its past three games: a loss at Toronto, followed by consecutive victories at Montreal and Philadelphia. Saturday's came at one minute, eight seconds of the third period, scored from the left side on a shot that hit Flyers goaltender Brian Elliott and went in. The Flyers outshot the Wild, 32-27, but could not get past Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk, who recorded his second consecutive shutout.
The Wild produced outstanding team defense for the second game in a row, supporting another strong game from Dubnyk. It bottled up the Flyers' line of Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek _ the second highest scoring line in the NHL _ and held Philadelphia without a goal on three power plays.
The Wild finished its four-game, six-day road trip with a 2-2 record and ended a five-game losing streak to the Flyers.
The Flyers' "Ginger Line" _ a nickname the three players gave themselves, as a nod to their matching red hair _ entered the game as the second-most prolific in the NHL. The group, which first joined forces in training camp, has used outstanding vision, timing and teamwork to amass 23 goals and 60 points in Philadelphia's first 16 games.
"They move the puck quickly, and they're extremely fast," Dubnyk said. "They're very patient with the puck. They obviously have some good chemistry and know where each other are. You've always got to be aware; they might make that one extra pass, so it will be important to try to hold my edges as long as I can and be patient."
They also had the benefit of rest. The Flyers had four days off before their last game, a home victory Thursday over Chicago, while the Wild were finishing a road trip tied for their longest of the season.
The Wild didn't show any signs of fatigue in briskly paced game. They maintained the good defensive habits preached by coach Bruce Boudreau; after some distressingly loose play in the neutral zone earlier this season, they have begun to lock down more consistently, a vital component to their success. Before Saturday's game, Boudreau showed some video clips to reinforce what he wanted to see.
"With us, it's more taking time and space away from the other team, not allowing them to get set up and do what they do," he said. "We call it 'quick to check.' When we let teams come into the zone without being pressured, then they usually have their way with us."
The Wild played outstanding defense in a tight-checking first period. They disrupted passes, prevented odd-man rushes, swept out rebounds and limited the Flyers to a handful of good chances. The ones they did get were turned aside by Dubnyk.
Philadelphia outshot the Wild 12-5 in the first period, as the Wild stalled over the final 10 minutes and managed to hit Elliott with only one shot. The Flyers held a 23-14 shot margin after two periods but were left empty-handed, as Dubnyk made excellent glove saves on Couturier and Wayne Simmonds. Elliott matched him at the other end, stopping a Mikko Koivu attempt at the front of the net and a point-blank shot by Jared Spurgeon.
Zucker finally broke the stalemate, on a less-than-pretty play. Matt Dumba didn't get good contact on a shot from the right point, and it sailed wide, banging off the end boards. Zucker got his stick on the rebound at the left side; his shot wasn't strong, either, but it struck Elliott and slipped behind him to put the Wild ahead.
