NHL: Boston 3, Minnesota 2

ST. PAUL, Minn., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Marco Sturm's third-period goal proved to be the winner as Boston finally beat Minnesota, 3-2, Thursday night.

Patrice Bergeron and Sergei Samsonov also scored for the Bruins, who defeated the Wild for the first time in franchise history. Brian Leetch and David Tanabe added assists in the win.

Andrew Raycroft made 29 saves for Boston, which snapped a three-game losing streak.

Brian Rolston scored a goal and had an assist and Randy Robitaille also netted a goal for the Wild, who lost for the seventh time in their last nine games.