Stalock backstops surging Wild to 2-0 win over Maple Leafs

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Alex Stalock stopped 28 shots to complete his first National Hockey League shutout in three seasons, steering the Minnesota Wild past the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-0, on Thursday night for their fourth straight victory.

Tyler Ennis scored early and Mikael Granlund added a late goal for the Wild, whose first three wins on the streak were all in extra time. They handed the Maple Leafs their first blank slate in more than a year, since a 3-0 loss at Calgary on Nov. 30, 2016.

The Leafs, who have the secondbest record in the Eastern Conference and entered the game with the fifth-highest scoring average in the league, have totalled three goals in the past three games without Auston Matthews, out with an upper-body injury.

Stalock stepped up at an opportune time for the Wild, who had to pull starter Devan Dubnyk from the previous game after one period because of an unspecified lower-body injury. Dubnyk will miss at least another week, leaving the net in the hands of Stalock, who played at South St. Paul High School just eight kilometres from Xcel Energy Center. All four of his previous NHL shutouts came with San Jose.

Since losing 4-2 to the Leafs in Toronto on Nov. 8, the Wild are 12-4-1 in 17 games for an NHL-leading 25 points over that span. This was their fifth straight win at home.

The Wild killed all four Leaf power plays, and are 24 for 25 in the past eight games. Their home penalty kill is the best in the NHL at 44 of 47 successes.

The Leafs had only six shots on goal at the midway point of the game, after going a span of 28-plus minutes with only three tries on target.