ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gustav Nyquist's third-period goal gave the Detroit Red Wings a 3-2 victory Saturday over the Minnesota Wild, their fourth win in five games.

Brendan Smith and David Legwand each scored on a power play for the Red Wings, who were in a 2-for-25 slump with the man advantage until getting goals on both of their opportunities in this rare afternoon start. The Red Wings also quieted the Wild's top line of Mikael Granlund, Zach Parise and Jason Pominville, held without a point for the first time in eight games.

Detroit Red Wings v Minnesota Wild
(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
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Brendan Smith and David Legwand each scored on a power play for the Red Wings, who were in a 2-for-25 slump with the man advantage until getting goals on both of their opportunities in this rare afternoon start. The Red Wings also quieted the Wild's top line of Mikael Granlund, Zach Parise and Jason Pominville, held without a point for the first time in eight games.

The Red Wings, missing stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg among others, moved into eighth place in the Eastern Conference with 79 points. Columbus has 78.

Mikko Koivu gave the Wild an early lead with a power-play goal, and Charlie Coyle tied it on a third-period penalty shot. But the Wild, clinging to a wild card spot in the Western Conference, fell to 2-3-4 in nine games since the trade deadline.

"We can't keep letting these points go to waste. We've got to come into every game and play a solid 60 minutes," Coyle said, "It's coming down to the wire here, and we've got to make the most of it."

The Wild, who have 83 points with 11 games remaining, are in seventh place, slightly ahead of Phoenix. The first team below the cut, Dallas, has 77 points but one more game left than the Wild.

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