SUNRISE, Fla., March 19 (UPI) -- Pascal Dupuis scored a goal and set up another and Dwayne Roloson made 31 saves Wednesday night as the Minnesota Wild posted a 3-1 victory over the Florida Panthers.
Minnesota moved 14 points ahead of ninth-place Phoenix, all but cementing its first playoff spot since joining the NHL in 2000. The Wild also pulled within four points of sixth-place Colorado in the Western Conference standings.
Already with career highs in goals, assists and points, Dupuis netted a power-play tally late in the third to keep the Wild unbeaten when leading after two periods (26
1).
The 23-year-old Dupuis also assisted on Sergei Zholtok's game-winner with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the first.
Antti Laaksonen also tallied for Minnesota, which snapped a two-game winless skid.
Viktor Kozlov netted the lone goal for Florida, which had its home winless slide reach 11 games (0-8-2-1).
