NHL: Minnesota 3, Colorado 1

DENVER, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Matt Cullen had a hand in each of the Minnesota goals Thursday to help lead the Wild to a 3-1 victory over Colorado.

Cullen opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal 9:23 into the contest, tallied late in the opening period to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead and was credited with an assist in the second period on Andrew Brunette's power-play goal.

It was Cullen's first two-goal game of the season.

Niklas Backstrom stopped 36-of-37 shots, helping the Wild win a third straight game for the first time since mid-November. Colorado has dropped two in a row following a six-game winning streak.

Craig Anderson gave up three goals on 14 shots before being replaced by Peter Budaj, who turned aside all 18 shots he faced.