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Dumont, Ellis help Predators end skid vs. Wild

Jan 6, 2008 - 6:45 AM By Jim Diamond PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Whether it was one goal or two, J.P. Dumont is on fire nonetheless.

Dumont originally was credited with two goals and Dan Ellis made 29 saves to lead the Nashville Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.

Martin Gelinas and Martin Erat also tallied for Nashville, which halted a four-game losing streak to Minnesota.

"We wanted to learn from what happened before," Ellis said. "We didn't want to repeat the same thing twice. They are a team that can come alive in third periods. We came out with a strong work ethic and we wanted to get on them right away."

Entering with a three-game goal-scoring streak, Dumont was awarded a goal at 8:03 of the first period, giving the Predators a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Dan Hamhuis received a pass from behind the net by Alexander Radulov and unleashed a rising slap shot from the blue line that beat goaltender Josh Harding.

Hamhuis originally received credit for the tally, but it later was changed to Dumont, who was standing in front of the net. After the game, Hamhuis rightfully was awarded his third goal of the season.

"Actually, I didn't see it," Hamhuis said. "I took the shot and then I got buried. I never did see it go in. J.P. said he didn't think that he touched it. When they credited it to him, he went to the ref and asked them to take a third look at it because he didn't think it hit him. That's pretty honorable of him."

"I don't think that I got that goal, but if they change it, it must have hit one of my hairs or jersey or something," Dumont said. "I was in front and I tried to get out of the way. It doesn't matter who scored it, it was a big goal."

Dumont left no doubt with 1:50 remaining in the opening session, beating Harding from the right faceoff circle after getting a feed from the high slot by Radulov.

"Rads brought the puck to the middle," Dumont said. "A lot of their guys were going with him. He found the opening and made a great pass. I just shot it right away. It was a big goal."

It was the second assist of the night for Radulov, who stretched his points streak to six games.

Gelinas opened the scoring at 6:54 of the first.

Minnesota defenseman Petteri Nummelin lost the puck in the slot to David Legwand, whose shot was stopped by Harding. Nummelin then failed to clear the rebound, allowing Gelinas to poke it in for his sixth of the season.

"We had maybe three or four guys max that were not mentally ready to play," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said. "Couple mistakes, pucks in the net, then you give them momentum. They need the game as much as we do, so they kept playing as good as they can."

Mark Parrish got the Wild on the scoreboard at 3:43 of the second period with his fourth tally in five games. From behind the net, Stephane Veilleux sent a backhand pass to the low slot, where Parrish beat Ellis for his 11th goal.

Erat restored Nashville's three-goal bulge 7 1/2 minutes into the third. Jerred Smithson banked a pass off the left wing boards from the neutral zone, and Erat beat Harding to the stick side with a one-timer from the faceoff circle for his 10th tally.

"We paid a lot of attention to detail tonight," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "We played good team defense. Good things happen off of good team defense."

Harding turned aside 26 shots for the Wild, who had won three of four.

"I think we've got to get back to the drawing board a little bit and start out and keep it simple and try to limit them and limit their chances," Minnesota defenseman Sean Hill said. "If we do that, then we seem to play our best."