ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild matched their franchise record for goals in an 8-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.
Connor Dewar got his first career goal and added an assist when Nico Sturm scored 22 seconds later to help the Wild break open the game in the second period against the hapless Habs.
Jared Spurgeon, Marcus Foligno, Mats Zuccarello, Matt Boldy, Jordie Benn and Kevin Fiala also scored as the Wild improved to 10-0-1 in their last 11 games at Xcel Energy Center.
They've outscored their opponents 56-25 in that stretch.
Montreal actually got on the board first, with Mike Hoffman beating just-returned goaltender Cam Talbot just 83 seconds into the contest. But instead of hanging their heads, the Wild regrouped and captain Jared Spurgeon put one in less than two minutes later. Minnesota never looked back, embarking on a goal feeding frenzy.
"We're never out of it. We've got the lines that can do it. And we don't sit in the dressing room and sulk or on the bench even then we're already down one. I mean, it doesn't matter," Wild defenseman Jordie Benn told NHL.com. "We got a lot of time left and doesn't matter if there's 30 to the 19th minute in the third period, we still have a chance."
Wild star forward Kirill Kaprizov continues to be a game-changer, picking up two assists and reaching 100 points in just 92 career NHL games. That's faster than anyone in franchise history, besting Brian Rolston who reached the mark in 105 games, and Marian Gaborik who took 147 games.
In fact, only five skaters have reached the 100 point mark faster than Kaprizov, with only Alex Ovechkin (77 games), Sidney Crosby (80), Evgeni Malkin (89) and Connor McDavid (92) on the list ahead of the creative Russian.
The only negative from the Monday night beatdown was that Talbot, in his first game back from an extended stint off the ice with a "lower body injury," was pulled before the third period after reaggravating it. He is due to play in the NHL All-Star Game in just two weeks time.
Recently-jettisoned forward Rem Pitlick got a bit of revenge against the club that placed him on waivers, scoring for the Canadiens in a losing effort.
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