Kuemper, Spurgeon Help Wild Beat Lightning 2-1

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Darcy Kuemper made 34 saves, Jared Spurgeon had two assists in his return from injury and the Minnesota Wild defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Nino Niederreiter and Dany Heatley scored for the Wild, who are 6-3-2 in Kuemper's 11 straight starts — a franchise record for rookie goalies.

Valtteri Filppula scored his 20th of the season for the Lightning, who got a strong showing from goalie Ben Bishop in a losing effort.

Minnesota welcomed Spurgeon back to the lineup after the defenseman missed 14 games with an injured left foot. But just 2 minutes into the game, the Wild had another setback on the blue line when defenseman Marco Scandella left the game after getting tangled up with Tampa Bay's Tyler Johnson.

Photo Credit: Tommy Williams Photography