Gustavsson makes 38 saves and Wild hang on to earn 2-1 win over Hurricanes

ST. PAUL, MN – Filip Gustavsson was stellar in net, stopping 38 shots, and the Minnesota Wild ended a three-game scoring drought with a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.

Yakov Trenin and Vinnie Hinostroza found the back of the net for Minnesota, who had been shut out in their previous two games—losing 6-0 to the Senators and 3-0 to the Bruins.

Trenin opened the scoring just 2:55 into the game, converting a pass from Marat Khusnutdinov and using a slick move to beat Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen. Hinostroza doubled the lead 51 seconds into the third period with his first goal as a Wild player. The play was reviewed after initially being ruled no goal, but it was overturned when it was determined the puck had slid under Andersen and barely crossed the line.

Sebastian Aho got one back for Carolina with 2:48 left in the game, breaking Gustavsson’s shutout bid.

Carolina had a chance to tie in the second period when rookie Jackson Blake was awarded a penalty shot. However, Blake couldn’t generate much of a threat, and Gustavsson made a simple save to keep the Wild ahead.

Andersen stopped 22 shots in the losing effort for Carolina, who dropped their third consecutive game, tying their longest losing streak of the season.

Minnesota showed a marked improvement defensively after allowing a combined nine goals in their previous two games.

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Carolina will host Utah on Saturday, while the Wild face the Islanders at home that same evening.