The Minnesota Wild had a chance to take a commanding lead in this 7-game series. What did they do with that chance?
According to Evason, the Wild play their best hockey when they play in straight lines and don’t turn the puck toward their own net or get fancy with it in the neutral zone.
“We haven’t gone east/ west, which is when it hurt us during the regular season and maybe in Game 1,” Evason said. “We go north, we are a good hockey club. Again, I’m not saying we are a dump-and-chase team. We don’t want to be that. We want to be skilled and be able to score goals off the rush too. Our identity is to get in and get after it and we have done that for the most part.”
Let’s see what happened when they…
Dropped the ClutterPuck!!!
––––– CP –––––
Here’s how the teams lined up:
Minnesota Wild
Wild projected lineup
Same lineup since Game 2
Kirill Kaprizov – Ryan Hartman – Mats Zuccarello
Kevin Fiala — Frederick Gaudreau – Matt Boldy
Jordan Greenway – Joel Eriksson Ek – Marcus Foligno
Nicolas Deslauriers – Tyson Jost – Brandon Duhaime
Jacob Middleton — Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin — Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill – Alex Goligoski
Marc-Andre Fleury
Cam Talbot
Scratched: Nick Bjugstad, Connor Dewar, Dmitry Kulikov, Jordie Benn
St. Louis Blues
Blues projected lineup
Blues Head Coach Craig Berube said D Torey Krug will be out for “some time.”
D Nick Leddy and Robert Bortuzzo could return after practicing Saturday.
- Neither returned so D Scott Perunovich (wrist) played his 1st career playoff game after undergoing wrist surgery in March and not playing since January 15th (CBS Sports)
The Blues went with 11 forwards and 7 defenseman
Brandon Saad — Ryan O’Reilly — David Perron
Pavel Buchnevich – Robert Thomas – Vladimir Tarasenko
Ivan Barbashev – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou
Dakota Joshua – Tyler Bozak – Alexei Toropchenko
Marco Scandella — Colton Parayko
Niko Mikkola — Justin Faulk
Calle Rosen — Steven Santini
Scott Perunovich
Jordan Binnington
Ville Husso
Scratched: Logan Brown, Nathan Walker
Injured: Torey Krug (lower body), Nick Leddy (upper body), Robert Bortuzzo (upper body), Mackenzie MacEachern (upper body)
Game Recap
As you’d expect, the Blues came out with a lot of energy and the Wild weathered that storm for the most part but gave up some big scoring chances in the first 4 minutes but G Marc-Andre Fleury was up to the task until…
Wild F Kirill Kaprizov had the puck in the offensive zone and was forced to get rid of it and he blindly threw it to the center of the zone where none of his teammates were so Blues D Colton Parayko got it and took off for a 2-on-2 with Pavel Buchnevich on his left. Wild F Mats Zuccarello was backchecking Parayko trying to get to his stick but even with his long stick, he couldn’t reach the tall, lanky Blues defenseman. Parayko dumped the puck in as opposed to trying to get around Wild D Jonas Brodin then he forechecked while Buchnevich moved over to follow behind him as they all went around the Wild net. Parayko used his lengthy stick to pry the puck loose and get it to Buchnevich and it looked like he just blindly threw it back towards his own blue line but it went right to Blues F Jordan Kyrou for a shot from the left slot that Fleury saved but the puck went off Fleury’s right should, up and off of Mats Zuccarello then to the ice where Zuccy tried to clear it but it missed it and Kyrou was able to get it and put it in a gaping net to make it 1-0 Blues.
Zuccarello got lost and then chased the puck.
Watch Zuccarello after he goes behind the net. It’s like he forgot that he could use his stick to play the puck or at the very least put it in the way to deflect that pass out front. His stick is in the air and he’s a spectator until the rebound hits him to wake him up but it’s too late at that point.
Wild F Kevin Fiala was called for high-sticking when his stick caught Blues D Nico Mikkola in the face and cut him so it was a double-minor but…
From these videos, you can see that Mikkola lifted Fiala’s stick into his own face so it shouldn’t have been a penalty at all.
Jonas Brodin saved a goal to keep the Wild within 1 on that 4-minute Penalty Kill.
The Blues have shown a lot of puck-watching on defense, too.
On this play, they lost track of Wild captain D Jared Spurgeon as he skated down beneath the goal line and got the puck after Kirill Kaprizov wrapped it around the right corner (to the left of the goalie) around to F Ryan Hartman. He saw Spurgeon going to the left corner as Blues D Colton Parayko so he sent it over there for him. Blues F Vladimir Tarasenko was the closest player to Spurgeon but instead of going to defend him, he pointed and yelled for someone else to go get him so Spurg had time to survey the ice and as F Ivan Barbashev came towards him, he sent a quick pass to Kirill Kaprizov in the left slot for a one-timer that beat Blues G Jordan Binnington to make it a 1-1 Tie!
A lot of puck-watching here, too.
The Wild were outshot 18 to 5 in the first period but the score was tied at one. For the first time in the series, the team that scored the first goal didn’t score the second goal.
Halfway through the 2nd period, the Wild lost a faceoff but won the puck and D Jon Merrill flipped it out of the zone instead of passing it. The Blues then turned the puck over the puck at their own blue line but the Wild can’t capitalize on it because Ek had to try to keep the puck out because Greenway was still in the zone but he couldn’t keep possession. Blues F David Perron broke for the net as Jared Spurgeon made a change with Wild D Alex Goligoski and was in stride with Perron until he caught up to him & stopped skating and tried to reach for his stick but he didn’t get enough of it to keep him from getting a backhand shot off that squeaked under Fleury’s blocker arm (6-Hole) and trickled towards the net. Wild F Marcus Foligno was there to sweep the puck away but it hit Fleury in the back and came back towards the net. Foligno tried to keep it out of the net with his skates but actually ended up kicking it into the net instead and it was 2-1 Blues.
Another “bounce goal” for St. Louis.
45 seconds later, the Blues dumped a puck into the right corner and Wild D Matt Dumba was going back to get with Ryan O’Reilly in on the forecheck. Dumba tried to backhand the puck back around the corner to his defensive partner Jonas Brodin but he partially fanned on his attempt. O’Reilly read the play perfectly so the puck was just lying there waiting for him and he had time to find Jordan Kyrou coming in alone at the top of the right circle. Dumba came around the net to defend him and both Tyson Jost and Brandon Duhaime were backchecking. Kyrou was in a shooting position but he took the puck back and put it through his legs to get to his backhand. Wild G Marc-Andre Fleury appears to think he was going to shoot as his right pad started to go down in the butterfly but he then realizes it’s not a shot but he also doesn’t have time to move any other way but the push hard off his left leg in hopes to get across quickly enough to make a save. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough and Kyrou sent a backhand into the net to make it 3-1 Blues.
Look how close Tyson Jost comes to poke-checking the puck away from behind! WOW!
Another example of players coasting on the backcheck. What happens if Jost takes another stride or just keeps skating? Same with Duhaime?
At this point of the game, the Wild had just 9 shots on goal on a goalie who had lost his previous 9 playoff games. It’s extremely difficult to score if you don’t shoot the puck.
There was still a lot of time left and we knew this Wild team wouldn’t give up and would for sure bring a helluva push to get back in this game but allowing 2 goals in 54 seconds is never good, especially in the playoffs.
The Wild got a couple of back-to-back power plays late in the 2nd period including 16 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage but they seemed like they didn’t want to shoot or wanted a better shot. At some point, you just have to shoot the puck even if it’s just to get some action off of a rebound.
This crosscheck happened and there was no call and it’s probably because the Wild had just gotten 2 calls because why else wouldn’t it be called?**
**See more on this topic in our Game Notes section at the bottom of the article.
2:39 into the 3rd period and the Fiala-Gaudreau-Boldy line got in on the forecheck and started to cycle the puck. Boldy had the puck at the right half-wall and sent it around the right corner to Fiala. He took it around the corner, past the half-wall and turned toward center ice. He made a crazy move to get the puck through the legs of Jordan Kyrou then just threw the puck at the net. Wild D Jacob Middleton pinched in when Fiala came back to his point. Boldy had gone around to the front of the net and Gaudreau was in tight by the crease screening the goalie. A rebound came out to Middleton and he moved to get a clearer shot on net and his shot squeaked through Binnington and was lying there at the right post. Blues D Colton Parayko put his stick behind it to try to keep it out of the net but Boldy was behind him. He saw the puck, moved Parayko with a push then jabbed at the puck for his 1st Career Playoff Goal. 3-2 Blues and the Wild were within 1 and there was 17:21 remaining in regulation.
To Boldy Go Where Boldy Has Not Gone Before!
Uh-oh! The Wild had some momentum. Hey, Mo!
Fiala was struck with a high-stick by Justin Faulk less than a minute later but… no call!
Matt Dumba made a kick save on a puck that squeaked through Fleury with 13:33 left in the 3rd.
That helluva push was happening and the Wild were getting chances and it sure felt like it was just a matter of time before they’d tie this game up. A Boldy chance, a 2-on-1 with Ryan Hartman shooting, we saw something similar in the Wild’s last game in St. Louis in the regular season. They lost in 3-on-3 overtime in that one. Will this one be different?
The Wild got a power play and spent the majority of the next 4 minutes in the Blues zone.
Gaudreau got a scoring chance but Binnington made the save.
Dumba had a chance at a tip in front on the net off a Foligno centering pass from the left half-wall.
The Wild pulled the goalie with 2:05 remaining.
Greenway carried it in the right side all the way underneath the goal line then threw it around the left side but nobody was there except Blues F David Perron was there and he knew the net was empty so he was ready to take a shot at getting his team back up by 2 goals to try to seal the victory and make this a 3-game series. He was somehow able to get the shot off and it went just inside the right post to make it 4-2 Blues.
Could Marcus Foligno have gotten to Perron’s stick here?
He goes in for the hit but his stick is in the air. Yes, punish him with a hit but for the Wild’s sake, lead with your stick on the ice going for the puck!
But, there was still 1:58 remaining in regulation and the Wild scored 2 goals in 58 seconds in that last regular-season matchup with the Blues in April so…they weren’t giving up. 1:58 is a lot of time so they pulled Fleury again seconds after the ensuing faceoff back to work they went.
And…the official decided that 90 seconds remaining in a 2-goal playoff game was the right time to call a very iffy cross-checking penalty on Kevin Fiala. It’s incredible that call is made but the one above on Jacob Middleton is not. That’s so hard to believe. Is it a cross-check? Maybe? Is it a cross-check in the waning seconds of a playoff game when other cross-checks that were clearly worse were not called? Probably not.
And it essentially ended any chance the Wild had to come back. That chance was slim anyway but it would’ve been nice to see them get that chance.
We call that… OFFICIALLY BAD!!!
The Blues scored on the power play to make it 5-2 Blues in what was really a 3-2 game.
––––– CP –––––
––––– CP –––––
Final
Minnesota Wild 2 | 5 St. Louis Blues
Goals
MN: Kirill Kaprizov(5), Matt Boldy(1)
STL: Jordan Kyrou(2), David Perron(4), Jordan Kyrou(3), David Perron(5)-ENG, Ryan O’Reilly(3)-PPG
*PPG=Power-Play Goal, ENG=Empty-Net Goal
Assists
MN: Jared Spurgeon(2), Ryan Hartman(5); Jacob Middleton(1), Kevin Fiala(1)
STL: Pavel Buchnevich(2), Colton Parayko(2); Ryan O’Reilly(2), Scott Perunovich(1); Ryan O’Reilly(3); Unassisted; David Perron(2), Justin Faulk(2)
Goalies
MN: Marc-Andre Fleury – 29 Saves on 33 Shots on Goal – .879 Save% – 2nd Wild Playoff Loss – 72nd Career Playoff Loss
STL: Jordan Binnington – 28 Saves on 30 Shots on Goal – .933 Save% – 17th Playoff Win
Game Notes
*
Great Sticks
Great Sticks is defined as having an active stick to disrupt the offense; getting your stick in passing lanes to limit the options the offense has to move the puck.
The Wild having great sticks is one of the reasons they’ve played well in the defensive zone this season but sometimes players lose sight of what they should be doing in the defensive zone. That 1st Blues goal and how Mats Zuccarello defended is a primary example of this. He was the 3rd defender behind the goal line defending 2 Blues players. Outnumbering the offense isn’t a bad idea but you have to win those battles because the rest of your team is being outnumbered by the offense.
If Zuccarello has the blade of his stick in the way of the pass in front of the net, who knows what happens but it’s probably not getting through easily and very well might not end up in the Wild’s net.
All players have these lapses because the game is extremely fast so you don’t have time to think. You just have to keep stressing to defend a player rather than just one passing lane and the hope of getting your stick on the puck…
“Separate the man from the puck or the puck from the man. Pick one!”
The easiest way to remember this is to think of how much easier it is to defend a player who is most likely over 5 feet tall and over 150-lbs than to try to be quick enough and have the hand-eye coordination to get your stick on a 1 inch tall, 3-inch wide, 0.37-lb puck or…
Man BIG! Puck small!
Or…
Man BIG! Puck small! Disco Ball! Haha!
**
Officials – Decisions on when a Penalty is/isn’t a Penalty?
It’s baffling how officials sometimes make a call then other times they don’t and it’s essentially the same play.
Is a cross-checking penalty in the 2nd period also a cross-checking penalty in the 3rd period or overtime? “If a tree falls in a forest* and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” What if there is an official there? Would they hear it? Or were they too busy thinking about WHEN TO MAKE A CALL IN A HOCKEY GAME so they missed it?
*What if a tree falls in the Wild? What then?… Yeah…What then?
All coaches, players and fans want is consistency throughout a game from all officials but what they get is inconsistency because every official seems to have their own definition of what is & is not a certain penalty.
They also have their own thoughts on makeup calls. If a team gets 3 calls in a row, or if they’re already on the power play, the theory is the officials will be watching closely to give the other team a power play.
That has to absolutely maddening for a coach and the players. Do you know why? Because it’s absolutely maddening to us so we can’t imagine how they feel. Think about this:
Does anyone in the entire world know what Goaltender Interference is? Bueller? Anyone? Bueller?
Any hockey fan has probably experienced a time where they thought a goal was clearly going to be called back or called a good goal because of goaltender interference. They were absolutely certain of it… then… NOPE! They were wrong! And the saga continues… Will it ever end?
We’re alright! We’ll be alright! Don’t be concerned!
***
Look for the Good in the Wild
*but watch &/or listen for falling trees.
The Minnesota Wild finished the game on a tear. They created a ton of chances and they outshot St. Louis 21 to 8 in the last 28 minutes. No, they didn’t score but maybe they figured out once again how they need to play to have success against the Blues.
They were pouncing on the puck and flying all over the zone and they had the Blues on the ropes praying for the bell.
They created chances against Binnington and even though they only scored 2 goals on him in 30 shots, they may have figured out that the goalie doesn’t matter. They can create chances to score and they believe they’ll get goals.
The Kevin Fiala, Frédérick Gaudreau & Matt Boldy line started to create chances, too. Boldy scored his 1st Playoff Goal. Fiala got his 1st assist & point in the series.
The Wild will be ready for Game 5. They will Respond and they will Bring The Clutter.
It should be a fun game.
Let’s Go, Wild!!!
Postgame
See More Postgame Interviews HERE.
––––– CP –––––
Next up:
Game 5 is on Tuesday, May 10th at 8:30 pm on Bally Sports North and/or ESPN.
––––– CP –––––
Thanks for reading!!! Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…
AND…as always…
