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Wild's Theodore blanks Penguins

Jan 9, 2011 - 5:55 AM Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Jose Theodore made 26 saves to notch his first shutout of the season and 30th of his career, as the Minnesota Wild topped the Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-0, at CONSOL Energy Center.

Chuck Kobasew and Martin Havlat both scored in the first period for the Wild, who have posted four consecutive wins for the first time since January 6-13 of last season.

"(Theodore) is on top of his game," said Minnesota head coach Todd Richards. "The other thing where he really helps us out is his puck-handling abilities."

Minnesota has won six straight in Pittsburgh after losing its first trip there on February 14, 2001.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 33 shots for Pittsburgh, which has dropped four of its last five games.

"Tonight, we just didn't start on time and we didn't compete as hard as they did," said Penguins forward Mark Letestu.

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby missed his second straight game with a mild concussion that's expected to sideline him for about a week.

Minnesota grabbed a 1-0 lead when Mikko Koivu fired a wrister from the left circle that deflected off Kobasew and past Fleury 13:23 into the game.

Havlat slipped a rebound between Fleury's pads to double the Wild's advantage with 1:54 remaining in the first period.

Cal Clutterbuck made it 3-0 at 6:20 of the third period before Kyle Brodziak capped the scoring with an empty-net goal.

Game Notes

Minnesota is 7-1-2 in its last 10 road games...Wild defensemen Marco Scandella and Cam Barker were both plus-4...The Penguins fell to 21-12-8 all-time with Crosby out of the lineup.