Wild rally for 5-3 win over Nashville after Jared Spurgeon exits with injury

The Wild power play was finally the catalyst for a win instead of contributing to another loss.

After a 0-for-15 drought, the Wild scored three times – including during a match penalty for a slew-foot against captain Jared Spurgeon – to get by the Predators 5-3 Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center for a subdued victory because of Spurgeon’s gruesome-looking injury.

“We responded well,” Mats Zuccarello said. “We got a goal, and I think the team stood up for each other.”

While the Wild trailed Nashville 2-1 early in the second period, Spurgeon crashed feet-first into the boards after getting slew-footed by Predators rookie Zachary L’Heureux.

Spurgeon’s right leg bent awkwardly during the high-speed collision, and he was helped off the ice with his right skate lifted. The defenseman did not return, and coach John Hynes did not have an update after the game.

“I’m sure the league’s going to take a look at it,” Hynes said. “Obviously, it didn’t look good.”

Already, the Wild are without defender Jake Middleton, winger Jakub Lauko and leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov, who missed a third consecutive game because of a lower-body injury; Kaprizov hasn’t resumed skating.

L’Heureux was assessed a five-minute match penalty and during the ensuing power play, the Wild netted the equalizer when Joel Eriksson Ek found Zuccarello for a redirect at 6 minutes, 19 seconds.

“When you have a player on their team do what he did, that gave us life,” Hynes said. “Obviously, it was a cheap hit, and it allowed us to get on the power play and that probably was the difference in the game was that undisciplined play on his part, and our team took advantage.”

Goaltender Filip Gustavsson, who had a season-high 43 saves, picked up an assist on Zuccarello’s goal, the third of his career after his long outlet pass to Eriksson Ek. This was the power play’s first goal since the 6-1 drubbing by the Panthers on Dec. 18 and only second tally over its last 22 chances.

“Last game we hit two or three posts,” Zuccarello said. “This time they went in.”

Jonas Brodin broke the 2-2 tie at 8:57 on a point shot that sailed by Nashville goalie Justus Annunen, who was screened by Ryan Hartman, for Brodin’s second goal in three games, but the Predators retaliated by 12:01 when Ryan O’Reilly buried a rebound in front.

Cue the power play.

With 2:52 left in the second, Declan Chisholm connected on a slapshot during a rare second-unit goal.

Chisholm, who had an assist in each of his previous two games, is on a career-long, three-game point streak.

Then 7:07 into the third period, the power play capitalized again after Marco Rossi swiped in a Brock Faber rebound that sat in the crease for Rossi’s second goal of the night.

Rossi’s three points — he also factored into Brodin’s goal — tied his career high for the second time this season.

“That’s what we need,” Zuccarello said, “especially when you have a guy like Kirill out.”

Eriksson Ek, in his second game back from a lengthy injury hiatus, finished with two assists, while Zuccarello and Brodin had two points apiece.

As impressive as the power play’s 3-for-6 breakout was, the three goals were a season best and boosted its overall efficiency to 19% to rank 20th in the NHL, the penalty kill did its part, too.

Nashville had its lone look late in the second and early in the third, and the Wild surrendered only one shot, a one-timer to Steven Stamkos that Gustavsson denied.

“He kind of shot back against the grain a little bit and [I] got a pad on it,” Gustavsson said.

BOXSCORE: Wild 5, Nashville 3

NHL standings

Annunen had 33 stops for the Predators, who were behind first after a Zuccarello shot deflected in off the inside of Rossi’s leg 7:54 into the first period.

Rossi’s 14 goals are second on the team to only Kaprizov’s 23, and he’s only seven away from matching his output from last season.

“After last year, I want to make another step,” said Rossi, who had a career-high 12 faceoff wins and tied a personal best with seven shots. “I think I’m doing a good job right now and just try to keep going.”

At 11 minutes of the first, Nashville responded when Colton Sissons tipped in a shot from Lakeville native and former Gopher Brady Skjei after the first of two costly turnovers by the Wild’s Yakov Trenin.

His second giveaway, an errant drop pass in the Wild’s zone that landed right on Stamkos’ stick, was fed to Jonathan Marchessault for a backdoor one-timer at 15:14.

But the Wild made up for those mistakes in the second, despite being shorthanded, for their third victory in their past four games ahead of a two-game road trip to Washington and Carolina.

“Definitely needed a game like that for our power play,” Chisholm said. “We’re hitting the post, getting good looks, and it was nice to see our power play break through and win that game.

“Hopefully we can keep that rolling because with Jared out we got new units, and we got to work on it.”