Minnesota Wild Game 4 Recap at the St. Louis Blues – May 8th, 2022

Posted on May 10, 2022 by

Minnesota Wild Game 4 Recap vs the St. Louis Blues - May 8th, 2022

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!!!

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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.

Wild tie game at 1 - Tarasenko identifies the man with the puck - 5-8-2022

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.

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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.

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Next up: 

Game 5 is on Tuesday, May 10th at 8:30 pm on Bally Sports North and/or ESPN.

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Thanks for reading!!! Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

 

AND…as always…

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Minnesota Wild Game 3 Recap at the St. Louis Blues – May 6th, 2022

Posted on May 7, 2022 by

Minnesota Wild Game 3 Recap vs the St. Louis Blues - May 6th, 2022

The Minnesota Wild now understand what it takes to:

  • Win in the Playoffs

&

  • Beat the St. Louis Blues

Now, they have to do it on the road in an arena they’ve lost 7 consecutive games to the St. Louis Blues in. Their last win came on November 11th, 2018.

Can they do it?

Will they play a similar game to how they played in Game 2?

There is only one way to find out. Let’s…

Drop the ClutterPuck!!!

––––– CP –––––

Here’s how the teams lined up:

Minnesota Wild

Same lineup as last game so same lineup card since we couldn’t find one. We made the changes, though:

Minnesota Wild Lineup at the St. Louis Blues - May 6th, 2022

St. Louis Blues

The Blues were without Nick Leddy and Robert Bortuzzo and former Wild D Marco Scandella drew into the lineup.

Here’s how they lined up in their morning skate:

St. Louis Blues lines from their Morning Skate for Game 3 vs the Minnesota Wild - May 6th, 2022

Game Recap

It took the Wild just 39 seconds to go up 1-0. Wild F Marcus Foligno helped Joel Eriksson Ek win a puck battle to take the puck away from Blues F Brandon Saad on the left half-wall in the Wild’s defensive zone. Foligno just chipped it past Blues D Colton Parayko who tried to pinch then got in Foligno’s way but Ek was already breaking for the puck with his linemate Jordan Greenway on his right for a 2-on-1. Former Wild D Marco Scandella was the lone Blues defender and he tried to lay down to take away the pass but he played his hand too early so Greenway slowed down and Ek floated some apple sauce to him and Greenway put upstairs over Blues G Ville Husso’s outstretched pad and glove. Sometimes, going the Greenway is the right way! 1-0 Wild!

That was a Green apple. See what I did there?

Is it a good sign for St. Louis that F David Perron, instead of getting on his horse and trying to get back as quickly as possible from the offensive blue line, tried to hook Joel Eriksson Ek then once that didn’t work tried to get back and gave a weak effort in his attempt, too?

Geez. It’s the first minute of the game.

Vladimir Tarasenko threw a hit on Jared Spurgeon that put the Minnesota Wild’s captain’s head into the boards. Tarasenko may be learning from his teammate Brayden Schenn as he left his feet to make the hit.

The St. Louis Blues were trying to take over the game with big hits and they got some big ones in but they weren’t really good hits. They were just going for big hits for some reason.

99 seconds after the Wild scored, F Kirill Kaprizov was chasing Blues F Ivan Barbashev back toward the Wild’s own blue line and he shoved him with his left forearm which cause him to lose his balance and fall into F Jordan Kyrou. Kaprizov kept skating because he saw the puck was loose. He was behind the Blues defense and F Ryan Hartman chipped the puck to him from the left boards and sent Kirill in alone on Ville Husso. Kirill made a move to his backhand and then fanned on the shot and it went wide right but Kirill was the 1st one to it and he quickly threw a backhand back at Husso and the puck went off the Blues goalie’s left pad and into the net for a 2-0 Wild Lead!

This is a great play! Shoot the Puck From Anywhere!

Also, Blues F Ivan Barbashev let his emotions get the best of him as he had a chance to get the puck or, at least block the puck from going back in front of his own net but he chose to go for the hit of Kirill Kaprizov instead.

Blues F Ivan Barbashev - Hit or Minus-1?

Look how quickly Kaprizov looks to see if the bank is open on a late Friday night!

Jordan Greenway got another Wild breakaway a couple of minutes later. Husso stopped his shot but gave a rebound that Greenway got to it first & he threw it back in front of the net for another Wild scoring chance.

Then Brayden Schenn threw another hit where he left his feet and hit Wild D Jacob Middleton up high that put the Wild on the power play. The Blues crowd started a Ref You Suck chant and booed. It was called charging. Do they think that’s a legal check?

Blues D Torey Krug tried to throw a hit on Wild F Matt Boldy but Boldy turned and Krug may have hyperextended his leg as he was limping afterward and left the ice. He didn’t return due to a lower-body injury.

On the same play, Blues F Alexei Toropchenko tried to throw a big hit on Kevin Fiala but he evaded it and Toropchenko fell awkwardly to the ice.

The Wild got hemmed in their own zone for 91 seconds but stayed calm and worked hard to finally clear the zone.

Then Brayden Schenn took 4 strides and hit Jonas Brodin as he continues to try to throw big hits but he apparently won’t drop the gloves.


Is this a charge?

Rule 42 - Charging from the 2021-22 NHL Rulebook

“as a result of distance traveled”

With 9.8 seconds left in the 1st period, 6’4, 209-lb. Blues D Niko Mikkola went at 5’8, 181-lb. Wild F Mats Zuccarello and cross-checks him a few times. Zuccy pushes back. At the same time, Ryan Hartman took the faceoff against Brandon Saad with Ryan O’Reilly at the right boards playing right wing with nobody for the Wild to oppose him. The puck dropped and Hartman tried to

2nd Period

The Blues get a 2-on-2 off a good breakout of their own zone with Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich but the Wild’s top D pair of Jacob Middleton & Jared Spurgeon broke it up as Middleton pressured Thomas at the blue line to force him to move the puck and Spurgeon poke-checked the puck away. Spurgeon then saw Kirill Kaprizov moving from left to right towards the right side of the far blue line so he just sent the puck that way. Kaprizov was being pursued by Marco Scandella so he curled towards the boards to protect the puck while Mats Zuccarello & Tyson Jost were coming toward him. Scandella tried to just keep Kaprizov there but Kaprizov just sent a quick short pass to Zuccarello to create a 2-on-1 with Jost on Zuccy’s left and D Justin Faulk trying to defend. Faulk didn’t commit to anything but waving his stick to maybe try to fake Zuccy to make a play but he didn’t bite. He also saw Ville Husso backing up so he waited then went upper left to put the Wild up 3 to 0!


That looked way too easy for Mats Zuccarello.

3rd Period

The Wild started the 3rd by winning a faceoff, getting the puck deep & letting that Greenway, Eriksson Ek & Foligno line go to work and that is what they did. The puck was sent around the right boards and Blues G Ville Husso stopped it behind his net then sent it around the left boards to nobody so Jordan Greenway easily intercepted it and sent it back behind the net. It must’ve hit Justin Faulk on the way because it slowed down. As it came around to the back of the net, Foligno easily beat Blues D Calle Rosen in a puck battle. The puck came loose and Brayden Schenn picked it up as he went behind his net toward the left corner then he got body checked by Joel Eriksson Ek to create another loose puck. Ek had nobody around him as he came around the corner so he took a shot that was deflected wide. The puck went wide then high off the glass and landed behind the net. Foligno won another puck battle against Brayden Schenn then saw Ek open in the slot so he fed him for a one-timer that beat Ville Husso over his left pad. 4-0 Wild


The Blues were barely competing at this point. 3 players watched Foligno behind the net while Ek was getting open.

Jared Spurgeon accidentally got his stick caught between David Perron’s legs so he was called for a trip. The Wild were doing a very good job of killing the penalty and St. Louis looked like they were looking for the perfect shot. They got a good one on the back door play but Fleury got over and made a great save. The Wild cleared the zone but Ryan O’Reilly had room to come off the right half-wall and take a shot that beat Fleary over his right pad on the Power Play to get St. Louis on the board. 4-1 Wild.


Middleton probably can’t give O’Reilly that much room there.

The Blues had a 3 or so chances to get within 2 right away after they scored including Robert Thomas hitting the post from a bad angle with a yawning net. Fleury made some great saves and may have had some help from his captain D Jared Spurgeon.

Another great save by Fleury on Robert Thomas right in front of the crease and Thomas looks up wondering how he didn’t score on that chance.

The Blues pulled their Husso with 7:37 remaining in the 3rd period since they were down by 3. The Wild scored in Game 2 around 10 seconds after they pulled Husso.

With the faceoff to Wild G Marc-Andre Fleury’s right, Wild F Ryan Hartman won the ensuing faceoff back to D Jonas Brodin and he skated behind the net using his speed to get some separation from the Blues forechecker. He then shot the puck from just in front of his own goal line all the way down and in the net for his 1st goal of the playoffs and his 2nd career playoff goal. 5-1 Wild.

The Blues put some more pressure but it wasn’t nearly enough to get back in the game.

THAT is how you play Playoff Hockey!!!

Wild win 5-1, regain their home-ice advantage back and now lead the series 2 games to 1.

They’ll try to do it again on Sunday afternoon in Game 4!!!

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Final

Minnesota Wild 5 | 1 St. Louis Blues

Goals

MN: Jordan Greenway(1), Kirill Kaprizov(4), Mats Zuccarello(1), Joel Eriksson Ek(3), Jonas Brodin-ENG
STL: Ryan O’Reilly(2)-PPG
*PPG=Power-Play Goal, ENG=Empty-Net Goal

Assists

MN: Joel Eriksson Ek(1), Marcus Foligno(1); Ryan Hartman(3), Kirill Kaprizov(1), Jared Spurgeon(1); Marcus Foligno(2); Ryan Hartman(4)
STL: Colton Parayko(1)

Goalies

MN: Marc-Andre Fleury – 29 Saves on 30 Shots on Goal – .967 Save% – 2nd Wild Playoff Win – 92nd Career Playoff Win
STL: Ville Husso – 28 Saves on 32 Shots on Goal – .875 Save% – 2nd Playoff Loss

Game Notes

*
Big Hits? Are they worth it?

Are the Blues trying to be the Broadstreet Bullies? Or maybe the Broadstreet Blue-ies?

St. Louis tried to throw big hit after big hit and what did it do for them? One of their players actually hurt himself and didn’t return to the game. It’s hard to tell what the purpose is of trying to throw big hits. Most of the time, your trying to get your team going with a big hit and they can help gain momentum but usually, it just takes you out of the play.

How many times could the Blues have just taken the puck instead of going for the big hit? Isn’t the puck what you want? Meh! We don’t need the puck but the fans always gave a big cheer after them, didn’t they?

Throwing big hits isn’t part of any coach’s plan, either. It’s not part of the forecheck or part of the defensive scheme. It can’t be because it’s not that easy to do. You can say you want your team to be physical and to play the body because that can actually work because you’re separating the player from the puck and it’s difficult to put the puck in the net if you don’t have it, which is the whole point of a body check.

It’s hard to see the Blues having the same game plan in Game 4 but we’ll see.

**
Have the Tables been Turned?

The Minnesota Wild now look like the composed team while St. Louis is losing control of their emotions and maybe, how they want to play the Wild.

The last 2 games look nothing like that first game and the Wild may have learned a HUGE lesson in that game. Now, they are the ones walking away from these big hits and staying poised because they know they have to and it’s a ploy to get power plays. They are not falling into that trap, anymore.

 Can they keep it up and take Game 4 on Sunday afternoon? 

The playoffs are a strange animal because, win or lose and no matter what has already happened, you have to forget about it and move on to the next game and also do it through the span of a game, too. That means every period, every 10 minutes, 5 minutes, every shift and every shot, save, pass, hit, mistake or anything else.

That is why the playoffs are so entertaining in every major sport. It’s win or go home and get out the golf clubs. Every team would rather yell FOUR than FORE then bring Stanley to the golf course in July!

*What does that even mean? Are you supposed to turn your tables? When it’s said this way, it sounds like something everyone is trying to avoid. “You didn’t turn your tables, did you? Quick! Turn ‘em back! Maybe hasn’t been too long and you’ll be fine!”

***
Are the Wild comfortable in the Playoffs now?

The Minnesota Wild have looked pretty comfortable in the last 2 games, like they now know what it takes to win these games and are capable of taking whatever the Blues throw at them?

 

This might be something that’s still yet to be determined but the difference in the last 2 games and the first game is like night & day but…

 

Marc-Andre Fleury looks steady between his beloved pipes. The team looks confident in front of him and that confidence looks like it’s made them feel like the only thing that can stop them is themselves.

 

But… confidence is a fickle thing for some reason so it can all change somewhat quickly. They’ve shown confidence for the majority of the season but they also had losing streaks of 4 and 5 games.

 

Postgame

Postgame press conference with Minnesota Wild Head Coach Dean Evason…

 

––––– CP –––––

Next up: 

Game 4 is tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 pm on Bally Sports North and/or TBS. We’ll assume the Bally Sports North coverage is just a first-round thing but it’s been nice to know the game will start on time rather than have to wait because another game has gone late.

It’s comical that these games are scheduled for just 2 and a half hours, though. When is the last time an NHL playoff game was done in 2 and a half hours?

Before they were on TV, maybe?

 

––––– CP –––––

 

Thanks for reading!!! Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

AND…as always…

Bring The Clutter Every Day in Every Way

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Minnesota Wild Game 1 Recap vs the St. Louis Blues – May 2nd, 2022

Posted on May 3, 2022 by

Minnesota Wild Game 1 Recap vs the St. Louis Blues - May 2nd, 2022

The ‘Puck has dropped for Game 1 between the Minnesota Wild & the St. Louis Blues!

Our Playoff Preview is here if you didn’t see it!!!

––––– CP –––––

Here’s how the teams lined up:

Minnesota Wild

Minnesota Wild Forward Lineup vs the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 - May 2nd, 2022

Minnesota Wild Defense Lineup vs the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 - May 2nd, 2022

Minnesota Wild Goalie Lineup vs the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 - May 2nd, 2022

St. Louis Blues

St. Louis Blues Forward Lineup for Game 1 - May 2nd, 2022 St. Louis Blues Defense Lineup for Game 1 - May 2nd, 2022 St. Louis Blues Goalie Lineup for Game 1 - May 2nd, 2022

Game Recap

Wild F Joel Eriksson Ek welcomes Blues D Nico Mikkola to the Playoffs by knocking him on his ass! Mikkola is in the lineup for the Blues because former Wild D Marco Scandella is out with an injury.

2:00 – Penalty – Blues  – 26 Nathan Walker for Holding

Twooooo Minutes

3:50 – Penalty Shot – MN – Jonas Brodin for Hooking or Lifting the Stick

And Marc-Andre Fleury says NO!!!

The Officials have entered the game as they give nothing to Brayden Schenn for absolutely blowing up Matt Dumba or the Hold on Perron who had Brodin’s stick.

That Is A Joke!!!!

It’s the Playoffs! You gotta let that go and give them a warning when it’s not even 5 minutes into the Playoffs.

And, of course, they score so Greenway gave the official some of his thoughts as he was let out of the box.

6:17 – Perron on the Power Play off a rebound that went right to him. 1-0 Blues

7:36 – Penalty – STL – Bortuzzo – Holding the Stick- Twooooo minutes

You never want to get caught holding the stick

Now, can the Minnesota Wild do something with it? They had some chances on their first power play.

Nope. No dice on PP2.

Wild F Matt Boldy threw a pretty big hit on Leddy!

Perron then took a penalty when he hit Ryan Hartman up high and Hartman left the ice.

2 Blues hit Ryan Hartman. Perron hit him late and his glove got up in Hartman’s face. 

Wild got some good zone time but they were having trouble getting shots through. Will they adjust? Take shots. Create rebounds?

Not yet. No goals, yet. 

Good shift from the Wild’s Identity line to get some good vibes going.

Wild F Ryan Hartman was back on the ice and he almost got a pass through for a great scoring chance to Kaprizov (?).

Rebound goal again for STL – O’Reilly

The Wild finished the period well and had a nice push at the end then pushed the Blues around so the 2nd will start at 4-on-4 as both Blues F Ivan Barbashev & Wild F Kevin Fiala got 2 minutes for roughing.

1st Period Stats
STL | MN
Shots
12 | 14
Faceoffs
50% | 50%
Hits
7 | 9
Blocks
0 | 9
No Blocked Shots for the Blues? That’s hard to believe.

2nd

The Wild started the 2nd getting back to their game and had the puck for the majority of the 1st half of the period but still, NO GOALS!

12:29 – Penalty – STL – David Perron – Holding the Stick

It’s time to make it count, Wild…

Post by Ek on a shot from the slot then a rebound almost goes but still no goals on the Power Play.

15:39 – Penalty – MN – Jordan Greenway – Cross-Checking 

Greener hit Torey Krug legally and then, for some reason, he gave him an extra hit.

Perron then added his 2nd goal off of a rebound.

19:32 – Penalty – STL – Justin Faulk – Roughing on Joel Eriksson Ek

St. Louis Blues Head Coach Craig Berube’s Reaction to the penalty:

Here’s the Penalty and you have to wonder if Berube saw that because that seems very obvious. Twoooo Minutes!

2nd Period Stats
STL | MN
Shots
22 (10) | 28 (14)
Faceoffs
50% | 50%
Hits
15 (8) | 17 (8)
Blocks
3(3) | 12(3)
Power Plays
2/2(1/1) | 0/5 (0/2)

3rd

Make that 0-for-6 on the Power Play.

8:04 – Penalty – STL – Robert Thomas for Hooking Jordan Greenway

A loose puck came out to Ryan O’Reilly and Kevin Fiala got a high-sticking penalty as he tried to lift the stick of Ryan O’Reilly and it’s a double-minor.

8:32 – Penalty – MN – Kevin Fiala – High-Sticking
FOURRRR Minutes! DOH!

The Wild kill off all but the final second of the power play and they again, score off a rebound and, again, it’s David Perron for the Hat Trick.

The Wild showed their frustration late in the game with Marcus Foligno going after Nico Mikkola and Brayden Schenn. Why? Maybe to try to set a tone for Game 2? That’s the only thing that makes sense.

––––– CP –––––

Final & Stats

St. Louis Blues 4 | 0 Minnesota Wild 

Goals

MN: None
STL: David Perron(1), Ryan O’Reilly(1), David Perron(2), David Perron(3)

Assists

MN: None
STL: Ryan O’Reilly(1), Torey Krug(1); Justin Faulk(1), David Perron(1); Brayden Schenn(1), Torey Krug(2); Torey Krug(3), Brandon Saad(1)

Goalies

MN: Marc-Andre Fleury – 27 Saves on 31 Shots on Goal, .871 Save%,
STL: Ville Husso – 37 Saves on 37 Shots on Goal, 1.000 Save%, 1st Playoff Win & 1st Playoff Shutout in his 1st Playoff Game

Game Notes

*
Emotions in Motion or Composure Exposure

The Wild didn’t keep their emotions in check. It caused at least 2 penalties and they know they can’t (or don’t want to) do that and put the 2nd-best power play on the ice.

If they control their emotions in those moments, who knows what would’ve happened?

**
Not Special Teams

The Wild showed why they don’t want to put the Blues on the Power Play and the Blues showed why they don’t care if they put the Wild on the Power Play.

The Blues were 3-for-6 on the Power Play and the Wild were 0-for-6 on the power play. They earned the Power Plays but just couldn’t do enough with them. Sometimes, a team can get momentum on the power play but even that didn’t seem to matter for the Minnesota Wild tonight.

***
Don’t Stop Believin’!

This Minnesota Wild team has responded to adversity all season long. This will be no different.

There is a long way to go and this Minnesota Wild team can do anything. It wouldn’t surprise us if they won 4-in-a-row because they will have learned a ton from this game on what not to do and they learn from their losses.

There isn’t really much of an advantage to playing at home anymore in hockey or any of the major sports anymore. It’s one game at a time. Forget about the last game if you win or if you lose because it doesn’t matter. It’s just like the regular season. They play 82 games to get a spot in the playoffs and then forget about those 82 games.

The Wild got to their game but it took away and they really played right into what the Blues likely wanted to do in getting power plays and sticking to what they do best, special teams.

We know “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades•” but the Wild were So Close A Lot tonight. Stick Taps to Hockey Wilderness on Twitter!
*Is that even a valid saying anymore? Should it be something else?

Postgame:

Minnesota Wild Head Coach Dean Evason postgame after Game 1 vs STL

 

Next Up:

Game 2 on Wednesday at 8:30 pm on Bally Sports North/ESPN!

Wild vs Blues Stanley Cup Playoffs - Round 1 Schedule

Thanks for reading!!! Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

AND…as always…

Bring The Clutter Every Day in Every Way

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Minnesota Wild 2022 Stanley Cup Round 1 Playoff Preview vs the St. Louis Blues

Posted on May 2, 2022 by

2022 Stanley Cup Playoff Preview - MN vs STL

The Minnesota Wild are coming off their greatest regular season in franchise history so the obvious question is, does that mean they will have their greatest postseason in franchise history?

The Wild have been progressing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since Bill Guerin & Dean Evason took over, too. They lost in the qualifying round in 2019-20 then lost in Game 7 last season but, this team is different. They’ve shown it all season. They respond to adversity and they play an exciting game on both sides of the puck. They Bring the Clutter!

Since Bill Guerin & Dean Evason arrived, they’ve been working on changing the culture of the Minnesota Wild. This has culminated in what has been just a great season of hockey all around. They broke countless records as a team and individually but all of that is over.

This is the Postseason! This is for…

The Stanley Cup!

_stanley_cup_playoffs_logo_primary_2022_sportslogosnet-6760

35 Pounds of Absolute Glory!

And because the NHL doesn’t know what they’re doing, the Minnesota Wild, who finished 2nd in the Western Conference, have to play the St. Louis Blues, a team who finished 4th in the Western Conference instead of a team that finished 7th in the conference because the NHL wanted to build rivalries in the playoffs. Here’s Gary Bettman… BOOOOOOOO!!!

2022 NHL Western Conference Standings - Should They Go Back to 1 through 8 for the Playoffs?

2022 NHL Western Conference Standings – Should They Go Back to 1 through 8 for the Playoffs?

Maybe the NHL will figure it out someday but, for now, the Wild have to play what seems like a 2nd round series rather than a 1st round series but, hey, it is what it is. They aren’t crying about it.

The St. Louis Blues won the 2021-22 season series 3 games to none. Two of those games were in St. Louis and they both ended in Overtime, one had a Blues comeback to tie the game in the 3rd and the other had the Wild come back to tie it with 4 goals in the 3rd period. The other game was the Winter Classic so the Blues have yet to visit the Xcel Energy Center this season and…

The X Marks the Spot!

The Minnesota Wild secured home-ice advantage on the last game of their season with a win over the Colorado Avalanche so this series begins at The X where the Wild were 31-8-2. They were also 14-1-1 in their last 16 games at home.

Will home-ice advantage be huge? It seems like it but the Blues are an experienced team who won the Stanley Cup just 3 seasons ago. 11 players from that team are on their current roster so they have a ton of experience. The Wild have just 2 players who have won a Cup in D Alex Goligoski & G Marc-Andre Fleury.

The Wild’s identity is hard work on the offensive end and detailed work in the defensive end. They bring a physical forecheck that looks to create loose pucks and then pounces on them to create offense. They are a 5-man unit, not just 5 guys on the ice trying to score any way they can and… they never let up. They’re relentless.

On the defensive end, the Wild rarely panic and that helps them sustain long sequences without allowing goals. They rarely chase (or watch) the puck.

In goal, the Wild have both goalies playing very well at the most important time of the season. Cam Talbot has been a man on a mission since losing 4 straight at the end of February and March 1st. Marc-Andre Fleury has been okay but even he wasn’t happy with all of the goals he allowed even if they was very little he could do about them. He gave up only 1 goal in the last game against the Colorado Avalanche as he started to look more like the Marc-Andre Fleury the hockey world and the State of Hockey knows so well.

I’ll Take A Wild Russian for 100, Alex!

Jeopardy Clue - Who is Kirill Kaprizov?

Who is Kirill Kaprizov?

This is not your grandpa’s Minnesota Wild, either. You know, those teams that relied more on defense than offense. The teams that didn’t have a superstar to lean on in the postseason. The Wild now have a superstar in F Kirill Kaprizov and it turns out he’s not overpaid after all.

He became the first-ever Wild player to score over 100 points in a season with 47 goals, 61 assists and 108 points* and, he did that while starting the season with just 6 assists in the first 8 games. That means he scored 47 goals in 73 games. Wild fans were ecstatic if their teams scored 100 points in a season let alone one player.
*All of which are single-season franchise records. KAP-RI-ZOV!

But, this is the 2021-22 Minnesota Wild and they also have Fs Kevin Fiala, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan Hartman and Matt Boldy among others. They have some high-end talent that can score with the best teams in the league.

They have a legitimate chance to win the Cup. They score. They play defense. They goaltend.

We’ve Got the Blues

So… what about the Blues? Well, they’ve been very hot down the stretch as they were neck & neck with the Wild for the last 16 games or more. They still have a bunch of very good players that can put the puck in the net. Their offense was the 3rd best in the league and they also had the 2nd-best Power Play.

Their Penalty Kill was also one of the best in the league as it ranked 5th.

If they have a weakness, it’s probably on the blue line and in the defensive end, specifically.

Will they be able to withstand that Wild forecheck? Were they exposed in that 3rd period in the last game against the Wild when they allowed the Wild to come back from 3 goals down and eventually scored 4 goals to tie the game before losing in overtime?

The Blues offense will be why they win or lose this series. We’ll see if the Wild can shut them down. It’s nice to have the matchup decision with home-ice in the 1st 2 games.

Keys to Winning the Series

*
Staying the Course on Both Ends

If the Wild stay with their game consistently on both ends of the ice, they should win this series. That means getting pucks deep and getting the forecheck going early and often. Let them boys eat!

That also means staying detailed in the defensive end by covering and defending players and being aware of where the puck is so they can clear pucks from in front of the net but also so they are not just within reach of the Blues players but taking away their space. They need to consistently read the play instead of reacting to what they see. Read the pass instead of reacting to it because that usually means you’re going to be a step or a split second too late.

The Wild also needs to shoot the puck. Shoot it quickly and shoot it often. They can’t sit back and wait for the perfect shot or scoring chance. Too often, we’ve seen goalies get in the Wild’s head so they don’t shoot. They wait because they think they need to get a better shot to score against a hot goalie. Is that true or do you just need to put pucks at him more often and shoot from everywhere?

**
‘Tending to the Net

It’s possible this series could be won with goaltending. Wild fans aren’t used to that being a good thing but they have 2 goalies playing at their best right now. Cam Talbot has been on an absolute tear since his counterpart arrived in a trade on March 21st:

14 GP – 11-0-3, .925 Save%,  2.25 Goals Against Average(GAA)

The Blues are no slouch in goal. They have a Stanley-Cup winning ‘tender in Jordan Binnington but he struggled this season but his stats have gotten in every season since that amazing rookie season when he won the Cup.

They also have Ville Husso. He stabilized the net for St. Louis but he’s just in his 1st full season and he has yet to start a playoff game. Does that matter? It didn’t seem to matter in 2019 for St. Louis. We’ll see if it matters in this series as it is now confirmed that Husso will start in Game 1.

***
5-on-5 Hockey

The Wild play their best and are one of the best teams in the NHL at 5-on-5. They were 3rd in the league with 208 Goals For and 7th with 151 Goals Against. The Blues were 4th in goals for with 200 but 18th in goals against with 171.

Their special teams haven’t been very good this season but they did ramp up and look a lot better in the last few games of the season.

That being said, the St. Louis Blues specials teams are both ranked in the Top 5.

Regular Season Stats for Round 1 - MN vs STL

Prediction

Minnesota Wild in 6!

––––– CP –––––

Thanks for reading!!! Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

AND…as always…

Bring The Clutter Every Day in Every Way

Posted in Hockey In Minnesota, Minnesota Wild, News/Transactions, NHL Hockey | Leave a comment

Minnesota Wild Recap vs the Calgary Flames – April 28th, 2022

Posted on April 29, 2022 by

Minnesota Wild Recap vs the Calgary Flames - April 28th, 2022

The Minnesota Wild get one last chance to beat the Calgary Flames and they surely remember how they were beaten 7-3 in Calgary & 5-1 at The X in back-to-back games at the end of February and the beginning of March.

Those games may have opened General Manager Bill Guerin’s eyes as they were, of course, before the trade deadline when the Wild acquired some physical assets to better compete physically in the playoffs.

This game had a lot of playoff intensity since just 1 point separated them in the standings with Calgary at 110 points and Minnesota at 109 points. Calgary would obviously like to above as many teams in the Western Conference as possible so they would retain home-ice advantage if they meet those teams in the playoffs.

NHL Standings before Wild vs Calgary on April 28th, 2022

The Wild still had a chance to gain home-ice advantage in the first round against the St. Louis Blues since the Blues also lost on Tuesday night.

That means the Wild need 3 points in their last two games* for their playoff series to begin at home because St. Louis holds the tiebreaker.
*St. Louis has just one game remaining against Vegas tomorrow night.

––––– CP –––––

Here’s how the teams lined up:

Minnesota Wild

Minnesota Wild Lineup vs the Calgary Flames - April 28th, 2022

Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames Lineup at the Minnesota Wild - April 28th, 2022

Game Recap

Calgary G Jacob Markstrom on Wild F Ryan Hartman after F Kirill Kaprizov made a turnaround pass to Hartman in the slot. Ryan Hartman was on his backhand and must’ve thought he had more time &/or didn’t realize Markstrom was a little out of position as he had most of the left side of the net open because instead of just throwing a backhand shot as quickly as possible, he tried to move to his forehand and that gave Markstrom just enough time to get across to make the save. OHHHH!

Hooking minor – D Jordie Benn – MN – 10:20

An aggressive Penalty Kill* from MN did a great job to kill off that power play.
*See more on the Penalty Kill in our Game Notes section at the bottom of the article.

The Wild had a much different level of compete in the first period than how they played in the 5-3 loss to Arizona on Tuesday. They outshot the Flames 10-6 as they kept getting the puck in deep, got their forecheck going and played very detailed in their defensive end giving up very little to Calgary.

2nd Period

Calgary got on the board first when Flames F Matthew Tkachuk threw a blind centering pass that got a good bounce off Brodin’s skate in front of the net and Johnny Gaudreau was there and he went to his backhand and flipped it over Wild G Cam Talbot to capitalize on it. 1-0 Flames

15:51 – Flames F Mikael Backlund tripped Wild F Tyson Jost

The Wild didn’t have much going for the majority of the power play but they finally got into the zone and got some possession time. Brodin took a slap shot from the middle of the blue line on a rolling puck and it beat Markstrom just past his outstretched leg pad off the post and in. 1-1 Tie.

In another sequence, the Wild had some good zone time in the offensive zone and Flames G Jacob Markstrom lost his stick. It ended up all the way over by the right half-wall. The Flames finally cleared the zone so Markstrom went to get his stick but the Wild got the puck and quickly sent it up to F Tyson Jost but he didn’t know Markstrom was out of the net and it sure looked like he had an opportunity to fire the puck into the net from the right side of the blue line.

8:16 – Wild D Alex Goligoski tripped Flames F Johnny Gaudreau 

Another very good kill for the Wild.

Late in the period, in the Wild’s zone, Flames F Tyler Toffoli had his stick between Wild D Alex Goligoski’s legs and eventually tripped him but there was no call.

The Flames got a call seconds later when F Mikael Backlund was battling with Wild F Jordan Greenway and Greener ended up cross-checking him into his goalie, Cam Talbot, who then reacted by taking Backlund down and Greenway got 2 minutes in the box with 10 seconds left in the period.

0:10 – Wild F Jordan Greenway – Interference

The Wild killed off the penalty, again.

Wild F Matt Boldy got in on the forecheck and forced a quick play from Flames D Erik Gudbranson.  into a turnover to Wild F Frédérick Gaudreau** and he takes a quick shot that beat Markstrom short side just above the right pad for a 2-1 Wild lead with 8:01 remaining in regulation!
**See more on Frédérick Gaudreau in our Game Notes section at the bottom of the article.

Gaudreau got another chance seconds later on a breakaway but couldn’t cash it in. OHHHH!

The Flames pushed hard in response to going down by 1 but the Wild were still playing very good detailed defense until Flames F Elias Lindholm got the puck at the middle left of the blue line and got a shot past Wild D Jacob Middleton and he hit the upper left corner to tie the game at 2 with 2:56 left in regulation.

Both teams had some chances in the final minutes but this one went to…

Overtime

34 seconds into overtime, Calgary D Rasmus Andersson got a penalty for closing his hand on the puck as he had lost his stick and was trying to keep the puck away from Wild D Jonas Brodin behind the Calgary net.

And… with 4 forwards on the ice, the Wild make quick work of that power play as Joel Eriksson Ek won the ensuing faceoff back to Kevin Fiala. He moved to the center of the blue line and passed it to Kirill Kaprizov at the left point. They spread out with Ek in front of the goalie, Ryan Hartman to the left of the net near the goal line and Kevin Fiala at the top of the right circle. Kirill skated in towards the Flames defender then passed it to Ryan Hartman at the left side of the net. Hartman moved out towards the boards as Kirill split top and left defenders then flattened out to back up to the slot at the hashmarks. Fiala skated to the middle or a little left of the middle near the top of the left circle as Hartman sent a pass to him. Fiala faked a one-timer then passed it to Kirill for a one-timer that beat Jacob Markstrom off of his mask and in the upper right for… another… Wild… Overtime… VICTORY!!!

––––– CP –––––

Final-OT

Calgary Flames 2 | 3 Minnesota Wild 

Goals
MN: Jonas Brodin(5), Frédérick Gaudreau(14), Kirill Kaprizov(46)
CGY: Johnny Gaudreau(40), Elias Lindholm(42)

Assists
MN: Frédérick Gaudreau(30), Jordan Greenway(17); Unassisted; Kevin Fiala(52), Ryan Hartman(30)
CGY: Matthew Tkachuk(62), Nikita Zadorov(17), Nikita Zadorov(18), Johnny Gaudreau(75)

Goalies
MN: Cam Talbot – 31 Saves on 33 Shots on Goal – .939 Save% – 32nd Win
CGY: Jacob Markstrom – 22 Saves on 25 Shots on Goal – .880 Save% – 16th Loss

Game Notes

*
Wild Penalty Kill

The Minnesota Wild Penalty Kill has struggled for the majority of the season (26th in the NHL.) They brought it tonight and they brought aggression to it and it resulted in keeping the league’s 10th best power play off the score sheet for 8 minutes (4 penalties.)

We said above that this game would likely have playoff intensity and it did. Well, what happens in the playoffs, Teams & Players have to step it up to win in the postseason.

So…hopefully, this is the start of the Wild stepping up their Penalty Kill to help them win when the games get a lot more important.

**
Frédérick Gaudreau

We’ve wanted to talk about Freddy G for most of the season because we just love his game and it starts with how he competes. He battles for every puck and he has more skill than his history gives him credit for. His previous career-high in goals, assists & points is 3 goals, 8 assists and 10 points. The 8 assists & 10 points came last season when he played 19 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Tonight, he had a goal & an assist to make his season totals, 14 goals, 30 assists & 44 points. He’s also a career-high +13. He also scored his 1st power-play goal & dished out his 1st power-play assists this season.

He has also turned up his production in the postseason as he has 4 goals & 2 assists in just 14 games in the postseason & 2 of those goals are game-winners.

He’s playing between Kevin Fiala & Matt Boldy and they’ve been pretty damn good since they were put together when Matt Boldy joined the Wild on January 6th:

***
OVERTIME is WILD!!!

The Wild have the most Overtime goals in the Western Conference this season and the 2nd most in the league.

Remember a couple of seasons ago when the Wild were the opposite of exciting to watch in Overtime?

Overtime was almost a sure loss back then.

Oh, how times have changed! This team has had some of the most exciting moments in the extra session.

Tonight was no different. Will we see it again tomorrow night?

Postgame

Minnesota Wild Head Coach Dean Evason’s

Postgame Press Conference begins at the 14:32

On the…

Minnesota Wild PONDcastClick the pic for the Link

––––– CP –––––

Next up: 

The Minnesota Wild finish the regular season at home against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night at 7 pm on Bally Sports North.

They need 1 point to gain home-ice advantage against the St. Louis Blues in…

2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs Logo

Thanks for reading!!! Bring the Clutter in the comments &/or on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn…

AND…as always…

Bring The Clutter Every Day in Every Way

Posted in Minnesota Wild, NHL Hockey, Wild Game Recaps | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment