If you like scoring, Xcel Energy Center was not the place for you on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The Minnesota Wild served up an abundance of shots, hits, power plays and scoring chances. But in terms of actual scoring, fans were left wanting.

Instead, there was a goalie battle.

It was a battle won by the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins, who got 30 saves from Tristan Jarry in a 3-1 victory, handing the Wild their second consecutive loss.

A power play goal by Ryan Hartman was all the offense that Wild fans got to cheer about. Minnesota goalie Marc-Andre Fleury — playing his last career game versus the team that drafted him, made him a NHLer and a Stanley Cup champion — had 20 saves in the loss, which dropped the Wild back to .500 at home this season.

“That’s how the last few games have gone for us, but you gotta dig in and continue to find ways,” said Wild coach John Hynes, after the game. His team out-played the Canucks in Vancouver on Friday and also lost 3-1 there. “The positive side of it is we are getting the chances. The last few games they haven’t gone in for us but I think when you go down the road that you’re talking about, it’s the process of trying to get there. Sometimes you can’t control if it goes in or not but you want to make sure you’re getting the looks and you’re playing on top of teams and you’re trying to be able to get into scoring areas and getting those looks.”

Sidney Crosby scored the third period game-winner for Pittsburgh, and added a late empty net goal. The Penguins also got a second period power play goal from Evgeni Malkin to snap a four-game losing streak. The teams split their season series, with the Wild winning in Pittsburgh during their first meeting, in October.

Minnesota held a slight offensive edge in a scoreless first period in which both teams took penalties in the final two minutes. Both teams had power play chances in the second without mustering a shot. Near the midway point of the game, Wild forward Ryan Hartman took a high stick to the face from a Penguins defender, putting Minnesota on the power play for four minutes. The Wild got two shots on the extended man advantage, but couldn’t solve Jarry until they trailed by a pair.

“This has been a tough road for him. I thought he was terrific all night long. He was big in the net, looked confident and that’s what he’s capable of,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said, in praise of his goalie. “He’s a solid NHL goaltender when he pays up to his capabilities. I was thrilled for him. … This was a huge step in the right direction for him given an opportunity to get a fresh start here and this was a great start for him.”A short time later the Penguins went to the power play and made it count, with Malkin stuffing a rebound past Fleury. The Wild had another power play late in the second when Crosby was called for slashing, but again failed to score.

After Crosby’s fluttering shot slipped past Fleury’s glove to double Pittsburgh’s lead, Minnesota finally had an answer late in their fifth power play of the game when Hartman blasted a low shot past Jarry to ruin the shutout bid.

“I’m shooting those nine times out of 10,” said Hartman, who last scored on Jan. 15, then sat out eight games with a suspension. “Unfortunately, they got a kind of bad bounce on the second goal there. And I wish that goal was to tie the game up but we’re chasing it from two goals.”

It was the first time back in Minnesota as a Penguin for former Gophers and St. Thomas Academy standout Tommy Novak, who played in his second game for Pittsburgh after being dealt there from Nashville as part of a trade deadline deal. He had a pair of shots and played 16 shifts on the Penguins’ second line.

Fleury’s start was the 1,015th of his career, moving him into sole possession of second place in the NHL record books. He trails only Martin Brodeur, who started 1,251 games. More than half of Fleury’s career starts (667 of them) came as a member of the Penguins.

Wild newcomer Justin Brazeau, acquired from Boston last week in a trade deadline deal, made a brief home debut for Minnesota, playing four shifts as a fourth-line winger in the first period, two more in the second and none in the third.

“I just didn’t think there was a lot going on with the line in general,” Hynes said. “Obviously we were coming from behind so just had some different shifts and kind of doubled up some other guys that way. It wasn’t so much one player. More of it was just trying to give some guys some different looks and a little bit more ice time.”

In a stretch of the schedule where they have a home game every other day until after St. Patrick’s Day, the Wild will next host Colorado on Tuesday night, and get their first look at the Avalanche since the Central Division rivals acquired Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle at the trade deadline.