Jason Zucker scored all three of Minnesota’s goals for his first career hat trick, Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves for his second shutout of the season and the Wild beat Tampa Bay 3-0 on Thursday night to deny the Lightning a chance to become the first NHL team to clinch a playoff spot.
Ryan Donato had a pair of assists for Minnesota, which blocked 18 shots by Tampa Bay. The Wild are 6-0-2 in their last eight games and are in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoff race.
Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 27 saves, but had his 10-game winning streak snapped one game short of tying the franchise record set by Louis Domingue earlier this season.
A victory by the Lightning would have clinched a playoff spot after Columbus loss to Pittsburgh earlier in Thursday night.
Tampa Bay lost for the second time in four games after a 12-0-2 stretch in the previous 14, and was shut out for the second time this season – first in regulation.
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