ST. PAUL http://www.officialcanadiensprostore.com/authentic-adidas-phillip-danault-jersey , Minn. (AP) ? More than seven years have passed since the Wild traded Brent Burns.Finally, there?s a reason in Minnesota to stop wincing about dealing away one of the NHL?s most potent defensemen.Matt Dumba leads all blue-liners in the league with 10 goals, a rate that translates to 34 scores over a full schedule. That?s a staggering pace that would crush the franchise record, set by Burns with 17 goals in 2010-11, his final season with the Wild. It?s doubtful Dumba can double that, but it?s clear that the $30 million, five-year contract the Wild gave him prior to this season was a worthy investment.?It?s fun. I think it?s sustainable if I keep hitting the net and not try to do anything too tricked up or too special. Guys are kind of getting it to me more often and finding me more often,? Dumba said last week, after his two goals helped the Wild beat Ottawa 6-4 .He knocked in a wrist shot from the point in the second period to make it 4-1. In the first period, he scored on power-play one-timer in the circle from a slick feed by Mikael Granlund.?That was an absolute muffin,? Dumba said.Dumba became just the sixth defenseman in the last 30 seasons to reach 10 goals by the 22-game mark, according to the NHL, joining Shea Weber (Nashville, 2008), Al MacInnis (St. Louis, 1997), Ray Bourque (Boston Womens Craig Smith Jersey , 1995), Gary Suter (Chicago, 1995) and Jeff Brown (St. Louis, 1992).?He?s going to score as long as he keeps shooting the puck and hitting the net because his shot is that good,? coach Bruce Boudreau said.In Minnesota?s 4-3 loss to Arizona on Tuesday night, Dumba had an assist to stretch his streak to seven straight games with at least one point. That?s tied for the team-record mark for defensemen to match Ryan Suter?s run in 2013.The 24-year-old Dumba, who had 14 goals and 36 assists to go with a plus-15 rating while playing all 82 games last season, when he established career highs in almost every category. The 6-foot, 184-pound Dumba was drafted in the first round in 2012, exactly one year after the Wild traded Burns to San Jose.?We?ve got to get him to play a little bit both ends of the ice type of thing, but scoring 10 goals as a defenseman is quite the feat,? Boudreau said.Ah, but Dumba has come a long way on the defensive end.?I get to watch the offensive ability and also not have to feel like there?s going to be a 2-on-1 every time he?s on the ice, because I can?t think of a time that he?s made a poor decision as far as getting in offensively,? goalie Devan Dubnyk said.That?s how he gets paired with Suter as the Wild?s most-used duo. He?s averaging 24 minutes per game, just 45 seconds behind Suter for the team lead. Dumba?s shooting percentage is also up to a career-best 12.8, the fifth-best on the Wild Filip Forsberg Jersey , another sign of growth.?I try not to force stuff really too much. I know that really doesn?t help anyone,? Dumba said. ?It?s more of letting it come to you and when you?ve got those opportunities, take a shot and hit the net while you do it.?Burns has averaged 55 points per season over the last seven years, and he won the Norris Trophy in 2016-17 as the NHL?s best defenseman. If Dumba keeps improving, well, he could find himself in the conversation for that award someday.?Any defenseman will tell you it?s a tough position, tough as a young kid, because we all come from situations where you?re a dominant player or a player who could do a little more,? Dumba said. ?When you play against everyone up here that kind of takes a little bit off of that. So it?s just kind of figuring out where you stand, how hard you have to work to be successful.? NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) ? The Nashville Predators credited their defensive effort after their latest win.Kevin Fiala scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and the Predators beat the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 Monday night. Ryan Ellis also scored and Pekka Rinne stopped 21 shots to help Nashville win its second straight.?I thought we were really good defensively tonight,? Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. ?They?ve got a lot of tools over there, a lot of people that can hurt you, certainly that top line and they?ve got some guys from the back end that can really move the puck and add to the rush.?Rinne stopped eight shots in the first, five in the second and eight in the third. Five of the eight Rinne turned away in the third came in the final 1:17 with Hutton lifted for an extra attacker ? including a stop on a slap shot by the Sabres? Jack Eichel with 15.4 seconds remaining.?That was one of our better defensive games all year,? Rinne said. ?Guys did an extremely good job just staying with it. ? They have a lot of team speed and they?re top couple of lines are pretty dangerous.?Sam Reinhart had a goal for Buffalo, which is 0-2-1 since a 10-game winning streak ? with each loss coming by one goal. Carter Hutton had 23 saves.?It seems like we?ve been having trouble for a little bit here Juuse Saros Jersey ,? Reinhart said. ?So we?ve got to figure that out, get back to what gave us success earlier.?On the Predators? go-ahead goal, Craig Smith had the puck in the left corner and found Fiala at the left faceoff dot, where he snapped a quick wrist shot between Hutton?s pads with 3:26 left in the middle period. It gave Fiala six points in his last six games.Reinhart had tied the score 1-1 earlier in the period. After a mad scramble in front, Reinhart?s backhand was turned aside by Rinne but Nashville captain Roman Josi?s clearing attempt with his backhand went into the net, giving Reinhart his seventh of the season at 5:20.?I did like the shot mentality in that little spurt,? Sabres coach Phil Housley said. ?I thought there were times where we did control the play. But other than that, I didn?t mind the way we played. I just thought we needed to generate more.?Housley served as an assistant coach with the Predators for four seasons prior to getting the head coaching job in Buffalo.Ellis scored the game?s first goal with 3:35 left in the first. With the Predators on a power play, Josi sent a pass from the right point to Ellis at the top of the left faceoff circle, and Ellis fired a one-timer high to Hutton?s glove side.?Great win for us, I think especially the defense played well and Peks was Peks like always,? Josi said. ?It?s a huge win. That?s a good team over there. They?re playing really well this year.?NOTES: The road team had won the previous six matchups between the teams. ? Nashville is 15-1-0 this season when scoring first. ? Predators C Nick Bonino returned to the lineup after missing one game with an illness. ? Reinhart has six goals and one assist in seven career games against Nashville. ? Hutton, who served as Rinne?s backup in Nashville for three seasons beginning in the 2013-14 season, dropped to 0-3-1 against his former team.UP NEXTSabres: Host Toronto on Tuesday night to open a stretch of four straight at home.Predators: At Vancouver on Thursday night.