ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Detroit Red Wings lost another lead in the third period Saturday, but they weren’t fazed.

They beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 at the Xcel Energy Center thanks to the player who’s been leading their offensive charge over the past two months.

Gustav Nyquist scored the game-winning goal at 5:19 of the third period as the Red Wings (33-24-13, 79 points) extended their winning streak to three games.

David Legwand and Brendan Smith each had a goal and an assist. Riley Sheahan had two assists. Jimmy Howard made 28 saves to improve to 10-3-2 all-time vs. the Wild.

This is the Red Wings’ longest winning streak since they won four consecutive games from Nov. 24 to Dec. 1. They ended a four-game road losing skid.

These teams wrap up their home-and-home series Sunday night at Joe Louis Arena (7:30, NBC Sports Network exclusive).

Nyquist snapped in a wrist shot off a rush to snap a 2-2 tie at 5:19 of the third period. It was his team-leading 21st goal, his NHL-leading 16th goal since Jan. 20 and his fifth goal in the past four games.

An apparent goal by Smith at 6:30 was immediately waved off by referee Dean Morton, who ruled that Johan Franzen made incidental contact with goaltender Darcy Kuemper.

The Red Wings killed a penalty on Niklas Kronwall with 3:27 remaining in the third period to preserve the win.

Charlie Coyle tied it at 2-2 on a penalty shot just 15 seconds into the third period. He made a nice move at the net to score.

The shot was awarded after he was tripped by Franzen.

The Red Wings scored twice on the power play.

Legwand snapped a 1-1 tie with a power-play goal at 17:24 of the second period.

Sheahan, at the net front, received a pass from Jakub Kindl and then delivered a nice backhand feed past Ryan Suter to an on-rushing Legwand, who fired a shot that Kuemper got a piece of but could not stop.

Kronwall avoided a serious injury after sliding into the boards and hitting head/shoulder first four minutes into the game.

Kronwall stumbled after being tied up with Mikko Koivu. He was shaken up and helped off the ice. But he returned later in the period after spending the mandatory 15 minutes in the “quiet room” to make sure he didn’t have a concussion.

The teams traded power-play goals in the first period.

The Red Wings seemed a bit shaken after Kronwall was hurt. Kyle Quincey was called for interference and it took only 31 seconds before Koivu whipped in a one-timer on a pass from Suter to open the scoring at 5:38.

Smith responded at 10:34, just eight seconds after a slashing call on Suter.

Off the draw, Legwand rattled a shot off the post. The puck pinballed a bit before Smith slid in a backhand shot from a sharp angle for his fourth goal.