Playing at Bell Centre against goaltending ace Carey Price was a stiff test for Minnesota but these days the Wild just keep on winning.

Eric Staal scored the go-ahead goal shorthanded early in the third period to give Minnesota a 4-2 victory over the Canadiens on Thursday night, tying the Wild’s team record of nine consecutive wins.

They have a chance to make it 10 straight when they face the Rangers in New York on Friday night — their last game before the holiday break.

“I’ve been part of some good runs before but never 10 in a row, so this is fun,” said Staal. “You want to keep this riding as long as you can.

“It’s fun winning. We’re going into the break feeling really good. It’ll be a good effort to put everything on the line (Friday) and then exhale for a couple of days.”

Minnesota last won nine in a row March 8-24, 2007.

Jordan Schroeder and Jared Spurgeon also scored for the Wild (20-8-4), who erased a pair of one-goal Montreal leads. Jason Zucker added an empty-net goal with 23 seconds left in the game.

Max Pacioretty and Artturi Lehkonen scored for Montreal (21-8-4), which ended a two-game winning run. The Canadiens are now 15-3-2 at home.

The game featured a duel between two of the NHL’s leading goalies, with Devan Dubnyk having the edge over Price as the Canadiens outshot the Wild 34-27. Dubnyk was part of the Canadiens organization briefly in 2014 before he moved on and established himself as a top goaltender with Arizona and Minnesota.

“There was a lot of build up, so it’s impossible not to think about it a little bit, but he’s still the best goalie in the world,” Dubnyk said of Price. “It doesn’t make a difference.

“It’s always a challenge coming into this building. It’s a fun place to play.”

Price felt the same.

“He’s a good goalie,” Price said of Dubnyk. “His journey has been a rough one at times but you’ve got to respect his resilience and the way he’s carried himself through the process.

“You have to tip your hat to the guy. It wasn’t about me versus him, but you always want to outplay your opponent and tonight they had one better.”