Wild roll past Devils

ST. PAUL - The Minnesota Wild solidified their status as the NHL’s hottest team Tuesday, piling on the New Jersey Devils in a 6-2 win.
Minnesota, now a league-best 17-3-1 since the All-Star break, got two goals from Thomas Vanek, and single goals from Sean Bergenheim, Chris Stewart,  Jason Pominville and Jared Spurgeon, continuing their improbable rise from the depths of the Western Conference standings.
The Wild were solidly in last place in the Central Division on Jan. 15 when they acquired goalie Devan Dubnyk, and have gone 19-4-2 since then. Dubnyk, making his 25th consecutive start for Minnesota, finished with 30 saves in his 200th career game.
Dainius Zubrus and  Scott Gomez scored for the Devils, who had been on a hot streak of their own, going 7-2-1 prior to Tuesday. Goalie Cory Schneider started, but didn’t finish the game for the Devils, stopping 25 of the 30 shots he faced in just over 41 minutes.
The Wild got the only goal after the teams combined for 29 shots on goal in the first period.
With just over a minute left in the period and the Wild buzzing around Schneider, center Kyle Brodziak missed a shot at an open net, but corralled the puck behind the goal, then fired a pass to Bergenheim, who was between the faceoff circles. Bergenheim flipped a rising shot that hit the upper right corner of the net.
The Wild’s next rush, just 13 seconds into the second period, also ended with a puck in the net for a 2-0 advantage. Wild captain Mikko Koivu’s hard shot from the top of the left circle glanced off Schneider’s pad and went right to Stewart, who knocked it in for his second goal in as many games.
The Devils killed another penalty only to have Minnesota make it 3-0 shortly after both teams were back to full strength when Spurgeon’s low, hard shot from the right dot beat Schneider between the pads.
New Jersey would finally answer near the midway point of the game, when right winger Steve Bernier passed from behind the net to Zubrus between the circles for a quick snap shot. In beating Dubnyk, Zubrus snapped a streak of 50 games that he’d been held without a goal.
Vanek re-established Minnesota’s three-goal lead later in the second, snapping a rebound past a diving Schneider. Pominville capped off a slick passing play in the opening minutes of the third period to make it 5-1 and chase Schneider from the net.
Keith Kinkaid finished the game in goal for New Jersey with seven saves on eight shots. Vanek’s deflection of a shot by left winger Zach Parise was the only goal Kinkaid allowed, but Gomez answered 22 seconds later for the Devils.