The Minnesota Wild lead the New Jersey Devils, 1-0, after one period tonight at the Prudential Center.
The Wild led the period in shots, 8-1.
The one shot on net was a season low in a single period for New Jersey this season. Their previous low was three.
Cal Clutterbuck put the Wild ahead, 1-0, at 11:48 of the period. The play started when Ilya Kovalchuk fell down carrying the puck in the neutral zone. Devils' defenseman Anssi Salmela also fell as Clutterbuck skated around him. He carried the puck into the left circle and fired a shot over Johan Hedberg for his 11th goal of the season.
Clutterbuck almost put Minnesota ahead earlier in the period. With the Devils on the powerplay, Clutterbuck stripped Kovalchuk of the puck near the Devils blue line. The Wild forward broke in on a short powerplay, but Hedberg used a poke check to knock the puck away.
The Devils were badly outplayed during the first period. Minnesota controlled play throughout, and wouldn't allow the Devils to set up in their own zone. Even with a powerplay, the Devils couldn't do anything offensively. The Wild beat them to every loose puck and looked quicker throughout the period.