Predators win 6th straight with 5-1 win over Wild

Joel Ward had a goal and an assist while the Nashville Predators blew open the game with three goals in the third period to beat the Minnesota Wild 5-1 on Tuesday night for their sixth straight victory.

Nick Spaling scored two goals in the third, and Marcel Goc also added an unassisted goal in the period. David Legwand also had a goal. Goaltender Pekka Rinne stopped 25 shots.

The Predators scored so fast in the third they chased Jose Theodore after Spaling's second goal at 10:39 of the third. Theodore had been the NHL's third star after going 3-1 with a .946 save percentage last week.

Mikko Koivu scored a goal for Minnesota, which now has lost two straight after a four-game winning streak of its own.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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