ANAHEIM, Calif. _ A few hours before his 62nd birthday, Bruce Boudreau's new team presented him with a special early present Sunday night at the Honda Center: A victory against his former team.
There's little doubt Boudreau wanted this one badly, and he got it courtesy of the 2-1 score he has been all but begging for the past few days.
Standing on the visitors' bench in his old barn in front of a sign held by a fan that read, "Bruce Fan Club," Boudreau watched the Wild rally from a 1-0 deficit, tighten up defensively and stave off a third-period push by the team he guided to four straight division titles before losing his job last April.
Defensemen Matt Dumba and Jared Spurgeon scored 1 minute, 42 seconds apart in the second period and Devan Dubnyk rebound from a couple of tough starts with 23 saves. The Wild, who lost in overtime the day before in Los Angeles, extended its road point streak to 10 games (8-0-2), the second-longest in franchise history. The Wild have snagged points in 20 of 22 games (16-2-4) since Nov. 21.
After giving up four goals in five of the past six games, the Wild outshot the Ducks 36-24 for the game and 24-13 through two periods thanks to a tight-checking first period and dominant second.
The Wild killed two power plays in the middle frame and sparked its comeback with a goal on a two-man advantage, the ninth time in 11 games the Wild's power play converted.
Jordan Schroeder and Zach Parise drew the penalties. On the 5-on-3, Parise skated past Eric Staal being checked and fed Dumba atop the left circle. The young blue-liner let off a rocket for his sixth goal.
Just 23 seconds after the second penalty expired, Jason Pominville handed the puck to Spurgeon, then drove to the net. Spurgeon let go a deflected shot through traffic that got by John Gibson, who was screened by Jason Zucker.
The Wild, two points behind Chicago in the Central Division with four games in hand, have a conference-best .705 points percentage through 39 games.
Two hours before gametime, Boudreau reiterated that he wanted the Wild to tighten up, defend better and check harder. He said it was time the Wild started winning 2-1 and 3-1 again.
Frankly, the Wild did just that for most of the opening period but still fell behind a goal. It didn't allow a shot in the first seven minutes, only seven in the first 20.
But the first time the Wild got loose in the neutral zone and allowed the Ducks to fly into the Wild end with speed, the Ducks scored. Anaheim got on the forecheck, defenseman Marco Scandella coughed up the puck and moments later, Ryan Kesler scored on a rebound.
But Dubnyk, who had given up four goals in his previous three starts after not doing allowing more than three in his first 27, held firm from there.
He was protected well as the Wild, who led the NHL in goals-against until a week ago, started to look a lot like the version of the Wild that recently reeled off 12 wins in a row.
Boudreau, who hadn't stepped foot in the visitors' locker room in Honda Center since his days coaching Washington, got to leave the rink feeling good about himself and his team.
He chartered home after the game after a 2-0-1 California swing, which he dubs the NHL's Bermuda Triangle. He was looking forward to a day off Monday to celebrate his birthday.
"I'm a young 62 ... with a mental capacity of around 9," Boudreau joked before the game.
