The Penguins lost for just the third time this season, 2-1, to the Minnesota Wild tonight at Mellon Arena.

That leaves them at 11-3, with all three losses coming at home.

The teams traded goals in the first period, with Minnesota striking first and last.

Kyle Brodziak made it 1-0 for the Wild when he tapped in a slow-moving rebound from just to the left of the crease at 12:11 of the first period.

The Penguins tied it, 1-1, when Pascal Dupuis, set up at the top of the crease, one-timed a pass from Martin Skoula from the left-wing boards at 14:18 of the first.

Minnesota regained the lead, 2-1, when Eric Belanger whipped it past Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's blocker from the right circle with 0.6 seconds left in the opening period.

The Wild got its two goals in the period on four shots. The Penguins held a 16-4 advantage in shots going into the second period.

There was no scoring in the second period, but the Penguins continued to pepper Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom and went into the third period with a 26-9 shot advantage.

One notable event in the second period came when Penguins captain Sidney Crosby and Minnesota's Marek Zidlicky went down in a heap behind the Minnesota net, drawing slashing penalties, then fought to the right of the net. Crosby, in his fourth NHL fight, landed several punches before the officials stepped in.

The Penguins continued to create scoring chances but couldn't beat Backstrom to tie the game in the third period.

The Penguins begin a four-game road trip Tuesday at Anaheim.

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