Down the Frozen River

Tag: Jordan Greenway

Wild overcome Bruins in the third, win, 4-2

Jordan Greenway scored the go-ahead goal and Ryan Hartman added an empty net goal for insurance in the Minnesota Wild’s, 4-2, victory over the Boston Bruins Wednesday night at Xcel Energy Center.

Cam Talbot (23-12-1, 2.98 goals-against average, .907 save percentage in 37 games played) made 24 saves on 26 shots faced in the win for the Wild.

Bruins goaltender, Jeremy Swayman (17-8-3, 2.10 goals-against average, .925 save percentage in 29 games played), stopped 30 out of 33 shots against in the loss.

The B’s fell to 37-19-5 (79 points) overall and remain in command of 4th place in the Atlantic Division as well as the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Minnesota, meanwhile, improved to 35-20-4 (74 points) on the season and rose to 3rd place in the Central Division.

Patrice Bergeron (upper body) joined Jakub Zboril (right ACL) and Urho Vaakanainen (undisclosed) on Boston’s short list of players out of the lineup due to injury ahead of Wednesday night’s game in Minnesota.

Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, told reporters before the game that Bergeron would miss at least two games (Wednesday night in Minnesota and Friday night in Winnipeg) and has returned to Boston for further evaluation as the team doesn’t want to risk the infection of a lingering injury.

Bergeron may join the team in Montréal on Monday if he is cleared by doctors in Boston.

Jack Studnicka was recalled from the Providence Bruins (AHL), but could not make it in time to St. Paul, so he’ll join the big Bruins in Winnipeg.

In the meantime, Anton Blidh re-entered the lineup on the fourth line with Curtis Lazar shifting to center, while Tomáš Nosek was promoted to first line center duties against Minnesota.

Jack Ahcan was the only healthy scratch for Boston on Wednesday, while Jake DeBrusk took part in his 300th career National Hockey League game and Trent Frederic suited up in his 100th career game.

Brandon Carlo tripped up Kevin Fiala and presented the Wild with the first power play of the night at 5:40 of the first period.

It wasn’t that long before Minnesota converted on the skater advantage courtesy of an attacking zone faceoff win that the Wild utilized to work the puck around to Kirill Kaprizov (31) for a left hand shot from the right side, possibly off of a Bruins defender and past Swayman to make it, 1-0.

Alex Goligoski (26) and Hartman (21) tallied the assists on Kaprizov’s power-play goal and the Wild jumped on the board first at 6:55 of the first period.

A couple minutes later, Frederic and Brandon Duhaime exchanged fisticuffs as the temperature of the game was rising– crescendoing with five-minute majors for fighting for each player at 8:54.

Less than a minute later, Boston was back on the penalty kill when Erik Haula tripped Greenway at 9:41, but the B’s managed to kill off Haula’s minor infraction without issue.

Late in the period, Mats Zuccarello sent a stretch pass to Kaprizov through the neutral zone while Kaprizov was standing at the attacking zone blue line and sent No. 97 on a rush into Boston’s own zone.

Kaprizov blew past the uprights as Bruins defenders, Charlie McAvoy and Mike Reilly, were caught trailing the play while Kaprizov (32) elevated a shot top-shelf past Swayman to give the Wild a, 2-0, lead at 14:28 of the first period.

Zuccarello (42) and Jared Spurgeon (21) notched the assists on Kaprizov’s second goal of the game.

Boston stopped the bleeding shortly thereafter when Frederic sent a shot pass to the slot that deflected off of Matt Dumba’s skate in Craig Smith’s direction as Smith (14) was crashing the net and buried the rebound to cut Minnesota’s lead in half, 2-1, at 16:59.

Frederic (9) and Carlo (7) had the assists on Smith’s goal.

About a minute later, Greenway caught Connor Clifton with a high stick and was cut a rut to the sin bin as a result at 18:04.

Despite Boston’s power play extending into the middle frame, the Bruins were unsuccessful on the skater advantage.

Entering the first intermission, the Wild led, 2-1, on the scoreboard despite both teams amassing eight shots on net each.

Minnesota held the advantage in takeaways (1-0), giveaways (4-2), hits (11-8), faceoff win percentage (60-40) and was 1/2 on the power play, while Boston was 0/1 on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

Kaprizov was penalized for holding at 1:15 of the second period and the B’s made quick work of the ensuing power play.

About 30 seconds after Kaprizov sat on the penalty bench, Brad Marchand (24) riffled a catch and release shot from the high slot underneath Talbot’s glove side and over his leg pad to tie the game, 2-2, with a power-play goal– snapping an eight game goal-scoring drought for No. 63 in black and gold in the process.

Charlie Coyle (19) and McAvoy (31) had the assists on Marchand’s goal at 1:49 of the second period.

Almost midway through the period, Smith was sent to the box for slashing Zuccarello while the two battled for the puck in the neutral zone, but Minnesota couldn’t get anything going on the power play at 8:18.

Through 40 minutes of action, the score was tied, 2-2, despite Boston outshooting Minnesota, 17-15, overall, including a, 9-7, advantage in the second period alone.

The Wild continued to hold the advantage in blocked shots (10-9), takeaways (6-2), giveaways (6-3) and hits (20-15), while the Bruins led in faceoff win% (54-47).

Minnesota was 1/3 on the skater advantage, while Boston was 1/2 on the power play heading into the final frame.

After hacking at the puck for a while, the rubber biscuit sprung loose from the crease and the Wild pounced on it before working it around the attacking zone, whereby Goligoski passed it to Spurgeon along the blue line.

Spurgeon’s shot from the point went off Swayman before Greenway (6) slipped home the rebound under Swayman’s blocker side as the Bruins goaltender was outstretched in desperation to make a paddle save.

Minnesota went up, 3-2, at 7:56 of the third period courtesy of Greenway’s goal, while Spurgeon (22) and Goligoski (27) tabbed the assists.

Late in the period, Smith and Jon Merrill exchanged pleasantries and yielded 4-on-4 action for a pair of minutes as each player received two minutes for roughing in a post-whistle scrum at 15:38.

With 1:10 remaining in the action, Cassidy pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker.

After a stoppage with 51 seconds left on the clock, Cassidy used his timeout to rally Boston for a game-tying goal but it was to no avail.

David Pastrnak turned the puck over off of Hartman in the neutral zone before Hartman (24) raced to the puck first and put the icing on the cake in the empty net at 19:55.

At the final horn, the Wild won, 4-2, and finished the night with the advantage in shots on goal, 34-26, including a, 19-9, advantage in the third period alone– which marked the most shots that the Bruins allowed in any third period this season.

The B’s left the building leading in blocked shots (20-13), while Minnesota exited their home ice with the win and the advantage in giveaways (8-4), hits (26-24) and faceoff win% (52-49).

The Wild finished the night 1/3 on the power play, while the Bruins went 1/2 on the skater advantage on Wednesday.

Boston fell to 10-12-3 (4-6-2 on the road) when allowing the game’s first goal, 5-12-2 (1-6-1 on the road) when trailing after the first period and 8-4-0 (3-3-0 on the road) when tied after two periods this season.

Minnesota improved to 22-7-1 (10-2-1 at home) when scoring first, 20-1-1 (10-0-1 at home) when leading after one period and 8-2-0 (6-0-0 at home) when tied after the second period in 2021-22.

The Bruins continue their four-game road trip (1-1-0) Friday night in Winnipeg before wrapping things up in Montréal next Monday, which also happens to be the same day as the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline (March 21st).

Boston returns home to host the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 24th.

March 17, 2022
Minnesota Wild 2021-22 Season Preview

2020-21 record 35-16-5, 75 points

3rd in the Honda NHL West Division

Eliminated in the First Round by Vegas

Additions: F Frédérick Gaudreau, F Dominic Turgeon, D Jordie Benn, D Kevin Czuczman, D Alex Goligoski, D Joe Hicketts, D Dmitry Kulikov, D Jon Lizotte, D Jon Merrill

Subtractions: F Nick Bonino (signed with SJS), F Gabriel Dumont (signed with TBL), F Marcus Johansson (signed with SEA), F Luke Johnson (signed with WPG), F Gerald Mayhew (signed with PHI), F Zach Parise (buyout, signed with NYI), F Dmitry Sokolov (NMHL), D Matt Bartkowski (signed to a PTO with PIT), D Louie Belpedio (signed with MTL), D Ian Cole (signed with CAR), D Brad Hunt (signed with VAN), D Brennan Menell (traded to TOR), D Carson Soucy (expansion, SEA), D Ryan Suter (buyout, signed with DAL)

Still Unsigned: D Ian McCoshen

Re-signed: F Will Bitten, F Nick Bjugstad, F Joseph Cramarossa, F Brandon Duhaime, F Joel Eriksson Ek, F Kevin Fiala, F Kirill Kaprizov, F Kyle Rau, F Mason Shaw, D Dakota Mermis, G Andrew Hammond

Offseason Analysis: It took all summer, but it didn’t linger into the fall as Wild General Manager, Bill Guerin, and forward, Kirill Kaprizov, were able to hammer out a five-year extension worth $9.000 million per season– forcing this entire offseason recap/season preview to be re-written.

Going into Tuesday, Minnesota was bound to receive a letter grade in the “D” range for failing to secure Kaprizov before training camp, despite a few other moves that have actually been pretty good for them– salary cap penalties via buyouts aside.

Late Tuesday, Kaprizov re-signed and all is just about forgiven for the Wild.

Since joining the league as an expansion team in 2000, Minnesota has rarely had a competitive team that can make a deep run into the postseason. They’ve consistently been good, but never good enough.

Marian Gaborik came and went, Mikko Koivu stayed loyal until he joined the Columbus Blue Jackets for a brief stint last season prior to retiring less than a month into the 2020-21 schedule and then the dawn of the Kaprizov Era began.

After spending time in the Kontinental Hockey League for his early development, Kaprizov amassed 27-24–51 totals in 55 games in his debut season with Minnesota as a 24-year-old left wing.

He’s the real deal and the Wild are leaning into it.

Though Nick Bonino, Marcus Johansson and others weren’t re-signed as part of Minnesota’s depth that got them all the way to a Game 7 at T-Mobile Arena against the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2021 First Round, Guerin held things down where it counts– the core.

Joel Eriksson Ek signed an eight-year extension worth $5.250 million per season after a breakout season with 30 points (19 goals, 11 assists) in 56 games last season after amassing 8-21–29 totals in 62 games in 2019-20.

If the last two seasons are an indication of what’s to come, then the Wild have a steal of a deal in Eriksson Ek’s cap hit as the 24-year-old emerges in his prime.

Guerin brought back Kevin Fiala on a one-year extension worth $5.100 million– retaining restricted-free agency status over the 25-year-old forward heading into next offseason– after putting up 101 points (46 goals, 55 assists) in 133 games with the Wild in parts of three seasons since he was acquired on Feb. 25, 2019.

In parts of five seasons with the Nashville Predators from 2014-15 through 2018-19, Fiala had 45-52–97 totals in 204 games.

Don’t fix what isn’t broken, because clearly something is clicking in Minnesota and the Wild are reaping the benefits.

Alex Goligoski and Jon Merrill are fine additions to the defense, though as for how efficient they’ll be compared to the loss of Ryan Suter remains to be seen.

Guerin bought out the remainder of Zach Parise and Suter’s matching contracts on July 13, 2021, and in doing so saved Minnesota some valuable cap space to sign Kaprizov and build off of the new core.

That said, Parise and Suter will cost the Wild about $4.744 million in dead cap space for 2021-22, then $12.744 million in dead cap space in 2022-23, before the buyout penalties reach a crescendo with a combined $14.744 million in dead cap money from 2023-24 through 2024-25 before Parise and Suter’s penalties taper off with a combined cost of $1.667 million in 2025-26, as well as 2026-27.

This offseason might have been a breeze, but next offseason is a different story– especially as building and maintaining contender status gets difficult in the next few seasons too.

Ultimately, the cost of buying out Parise and Suter may or may not even be a headache for Guerin to deal with. It all depends on how the team performs between now and a couple of seasons from now.

For now, Guerin has about $3.215 million in cap space to play with for the 2021-22 season.

Over the summer, the Seattle Kraken formed their first roster and did Minnesota a favor without asking.

Seattle could’ve selected Kaapo Kähkönen, since the Wild protected Cam Talbot, but the Kraken went in a different direction and snagged Carson Soucy from Minnesota’s depth on the blue line.

Offseason Grade: B+

Though it took a little longer than both sides had probably hoped– and with more frustration than expected– Guerin re-signed his No. 1 priority in Kaprizov before the start of training camp.

The biggest challenge for Minnesota– other than improving on last season’s success before a First Round exit– is finding a way to keep the band together next offseason, when Fiala, Jordan Greenway and Kähkönen are on the short list of important pending-restricted free agents.

Meanwhile, guys like Victor Rask, Nick Bjugstad, Kyle Rau, Nico Sturm, Goligoski, Jordie Benn and Merrill have a little more flexibility to come and go as they please– assuming there’s enough cap space in face of the Parise and Suter buyout penalty crunch on top of what might still be a flat cap for the 2022-23 season due to the ongoing pandemic.

At the very least, 2023-24 should be a bit more optimistic with the latest U.S. broadcasting rights deals for ESPN and Turner Sports inflating league revenue all-around and likely bumping up the salary cap as a result.

For now, Minnesota’s transition continues, but for once there’s a sense of stability given their best players are 25 and under and enjoy being in a Wild uniform.

Though they didn’t bring the alleged “State of Hockey” a Stanley Cup championship in their tenure, Parise and Suter made playing for Minnesota cool as the franchise found its footing now entering its second generation.

September 21, 2021
Battle of the behemoths in the West set after Vegas downs Wild, 6-2, in Game 7

For the first time in Las Vegas, T-Mobile Arena played host to a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the 2021 First Round matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild did not disappoint.

Both teams swapped chances early and often before the Golden Knights pulled ahead in the second period and did not look back in their, 6-2, victory over the Wild to clinch the series 4-3 and advance to a Second Round matchup with the 2020-21 Presidents’ Trophy winning Colorado Avalanche.

Trade deadline acquisition, Mattias Janmark, notched a hat trick in the series clinching game, while Marc-Andre Fleury (4-3, 1.71 goals-against average, .931 save percentage in seven games played) made 18 saves on 20 shots against in the win for the Golden Knights.

Cam Talbot (3-4, 2.45 goals-against average, .923 save percentage in seven games played) stopped 28 out of 33 shots faced in the loss for the Wild.

Vegas was without Brayden McNabb (COVID protocol) on Friday, while Max Pacioretty made his series debut after missing some time due to injury.

The Golden Knights improved to 2-1 all time in Game 7s, while the Wild fell to 3-1 overall in Game 7s. Minnesota has never hosted a Game 7 on home ice.

Vegas head coach, Peter DeBoer, improved to 6-0 in Game 7s in his National Hockey League career behind the bench.

Friday night also marked the first Game 7 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montréal Canadiens heading to a Game 6 in the only remaining First Round series, leaving the door open for another Game 7 on Monday if the Canadiens can beat Toronto in Montréal on Saturday.

Midway through the opening frame Janmark (1) got a breakaway and drove to the net with two-hands corralling a forehand wrap around Talbot reminiscent of “the Forsberg” if Peter Forsberg had used both hands on the stick and stuck with his dominant shot instead of his backhand.

Nicolas Roy (1) and Nick Holden (4) tallied the assists on Janmark’s first goal of the night as the Golden Knights grabbed a, 1-0, lead at 5:09 of the first period.

Moments later, Roy checked Jonas Brodin along the wall and sidelined the Wild defender for the rest of the night in the process with an undisclosed injury.

Midway through the opening frame, William Karlsson was sent to the box for boarding against Jared Spurgeon at 10:32.

Minnesota did not convert on the ensuing power play– their first skater advantage of the night on Friday.

Moments later, Zach Parise (2) sent a no-look backhand shot between his legs and through Fleury’s five-hole to tie the game, 1-1, at 16:49 of the first period.

Joel Eriksson Ek (1) and Ryan Suter (1) had the assists on Parise’s goal.

Entering the first intermission, the score was tied, 1-1, despite Minnesota leading in shots on goal, 10-8.

The Wild also held the advantage in blocked shots (9-6), giveaways (2-1) and faceoff win percentage (56-44), while the Golden Knights led in takeaways (5-2) and hits (24-21).

Minnesota was 0/1 on the power play, while Vegas had yet to see time on the skater advantage heading into the middle frame.

Nicolas Hague (1) sent a shot from the point through traffic– beating Talbot clean on the short side over the blocker– off of an attacking zone faceoff to put Vegas ahed, 2-1, at 2:05 of the second period.

Karlsson (3) had the only assist on Hague’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal.

A couple minutes later, Ryan Reaves cut a rut to the sin bin for interference after he sent Suter face first into his own crossbar at 4:22 of the second period.

It didn’t take the Wild long to capitalize on the resulting power play as Kirill Kaprizov (2) sent a one-timer past Fleury while crashing the net as Mats Zuccarello fed the Minnesota rookie with a pass while skating through “Gretzky’s office” (no, not TNT) behind the net in the trapezoid.

Zuccarello (3) and Spurgeon (3) recorded the assists on Kaprizov’s power-play goal as Minnesota tied things up, 2-2, at 4:35 of the second period.

About a few minutes later, Pacioretty (1) put the Golden Knights in front for good– scoring the eventual game-winner on a one-timer from the slot after Shea Theodore sent the puck around the boards on a dump-in before Chandler Stephenson worked it to No. 67 in a Vegas uniform.

Stephenson (4) and Theodore (1) had the assists on Pacioretty’s goal as the Golden Knights took a, 3-2, lead at 7:44.

Midway through the middle frame, Ian Cole was penalized for interference, presenting Vegas with their first and only skater advantage of the night at 10:32.

Though the Golden Knights didn’t score on the power play, they did happen to catch the Wild in the vulnerable minute after special teams action as Zach Whitecloud (1) sent a catch and release shot over Talbot’s blocker on the far side from the faceoff dot to the left of the Minnesota netminder at 13:38.

Theodore (2) and Stephenson (5) notched the assists on Whitecloud’s goal as the Golden Knights extended their lead to, 4-2.

Moments later, Hague and Nick Bjugstad got tangled up and exchanged pleasantries, resulting in coincidental minor infractions for roughing at 17:09 of the second period and two minutes of ensuing 4-on-4 action to close off the first 40 minutes of action.

Through two periods of play, Vegas led, 4-2, on the scoreboard and, 25-16, in shots on goal, including a, 17-6, advantage in second period shots alone.

The Golden Knights led in takeaways (10-6), giveaways (5-3), hits (38-34) and faceoff win% (63-37), while the Wild led in blocked shots (17-12) entering the second intermission.

As there were no penalties that resulting in any skater advantages in the final frame, Minnesota finished the night 1/2 on the power play, while Vegas went 0/1.

Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway, Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault got involved in a bit of a scrum and each received matching roughing minors at 6:00 of the third period.

The four penalties were the final calls of the night and resulted in no skater advantages for either club.

Midway through the third, Janmark (2) redirected his second goal of the game past Talbot as Roy’s forecheck on Suter freed the puck for Vegas, leading to the goal.

Roy (2) had the only assist on the marker as the Golden Knights took a, 5-2, lead at 12:36.

With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Wild head coach, Dean Evason, pulled Talbot for an extra attacker.

It did not go as planned for Minnesota.

Janmark (3) casually swiped at the puck with a one-handed backhand stroke while diving for possession and buried it into the empty net to give Vegas a, 6-2, lead at 16:53 of the third period– sealing the deal on a Game 7 win, as well as the series victory.

Alex Tuch (2) and Alex Pietrangelo (3) had the assists on Janmark’s hat trick goal– the first career postseason hat trick for Janmark, as well as the first hat trick in a Stanley Cup Playoff game in Golden Knights franchise history.

At the final horn, Vegas had won, 6-2, and eliminated the Wild in seven games, clinching the series 4-3 in the process.

Vegas also became the third franchise to win a playoff series in three of their first four seasons, joining the New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues in the NHL history books.

The Golden Knights finished Friday night’s action leading in shots on goal, 34-20, including a, 9-4, advantage in the third period alone.

Minnesota finished the night leading in blocked shots (20-18) and hits (53-49), while Vegas led in giveaways (10-5) and faceoff win% (66-34).

The Golden Knights are now 2-1 in all time Game 7s after defeating the Wild on Friday and advanced to the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs as a result.

Vegas will face the Colorado Avalanche in the next round with Game 1 scheduled for Sunday night at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.

May 29, 2021
Wild hold off elimination in Game 5 win on the road

The Minnesota Wild only had 14 shots on goal Monday night, but they sure made the most out of them, beating the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-2, at T-Mobile Arena in Game 5 and forcing a Game 6 back in Minnesota Wednesday night.

Vegas leads the series 3-2 and can close things out on the road or the Wild can force a Game 7 later in the week in what would be a first for the Golden Knights– hosting a Game 7 in Vegas.

Minnesota goaltender, Cam Talbot (2-3, 2.42 goals-against average, .928 save percentage in five games played), made 38 saves on 40 shots faced for the win.

Marc-Andre Fleury (3-2, 1.40 goals-against average, .946 save percentage in five games) had 10 saves on 13 shots against in the loss for Vegas.

Once again, the Golden Knights were without Max Pacioretty in the lineup, while Minnesota made one change– replacing Carson Soucy with Calen Addison, who made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut in the process.

Midway through the opening frame, Nick Holden sent the puck up through the neutral zone where Alex Tuch botched completing a pass, but instead tipped the rubber biscuit towards Mark Stone for Stone to retrieve and take into the attacking zone himself.

Stone (4) slipped through the defense and sent a shot under Talbot’s glove to give the Golden Knights the first goal of the game and an early, 1-0, lead at 8:14 of the first period.

Tuch (1) and Holden (3) had the assists on the effort.

Less than a minute later, however, the Wild responded.

Kirill Kaprizov forced a turnover in his own end, sent the puck to Mats Zuccarello, who then carried the rubber biscuit through the neutral zone, cut left and passed the puck back to Kaprizov in the slot.

From there, Kaprizov (1) wired a shot past Fleury’s glove side to tie the game, 1-1, and score his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal in the process.

Zuccarello (1) had the only assist on Kaprizov’s goal at 9:06 of the first period.

Almost three minutes later, Zach Parise (1) banked a wild carom from the endboards off of Fleury and into the twine to put Minnesota on top, 2-1.

Jonas Brodin (3) and Matt Dumba (2) tallied the assists on Parise’s goal as the Wild took the lead at 11:57 and later completed a span of three unanswered goals in the first period after giving up the game’s first goal.

Jordan Greenway (1) carried the puck into the attacking zone, through Vegas’ defense and followed up on his own rebound to make it, 3-1, Minnesota at 16:34.

Addison (1) had the only assist on Greenway’s goal in the process.

After one period in Vegas, the Wild led, 3-1, on the scoreboard despite both teams having mustered seven shots apiece.

The Golden Knights led in blocked shots (8-6), hits (22-20) and faceoff win percentage (57-43), while Minnesota led in takeaways (5-4) and both teams had three giveaways each.

Neither club had seen any action on the power play heading into the first intermission.

Dumba sent the puck over the glass and out of play for an automatic delay of game infraction at 7:52 of the second period and presented the Golden Knights with the first power play of the night.

Late in the ensuing skater advantage, Vegas defender Alex Pietrangelo setup Alec Martinez (1) for a goal from the faceoff dot over Talbot’s glove side.

Pietrangelo (2) and Chandler Stephenson (4) had the assists on Martinez’s power-play goal as the Golden Knights pulled to within one, 3-2, at 9:43.

Late in the period, Brodin hooked Reilly Smith and cut a rut to the sin bin at 16:33 as a result, but Vegas failed to convert on the resulting power play.

Through 40 minutes of action, the Wild led, 3-2, on the scoreboard, but the Golden Knights dominated in shots on goal, 29-8, including an astounding, 22-1, advantage in the second period alone.

Minnesota led in blocked shots (16-9) and takeaways (8-7), while Vegas held the advantage in giveaways (6-4), hits (34-31) and faceoff win percentage (51-49) entering the second intermission.

The Wild had yet to see a power play through two periods and the Golden Knights were 1/2 on the skater advantage heading into the final frame.

There were no penalties called in third period as the Golden Knights continued to dominate possession and generate shot after shot.

As the game clock counted down, Vegas head coach, Peter DeBoer, pulled Fleury for an extra attacker with about 1:46 remaining in the action.

Shortly thereafter, Nico Sturm (1) used the power of mathematics to angle the puck off the boards, deep into the attacking zone and into the empty net to provide an unassisted insurance marker, 4-2, at 19:21 of the third period.

At the final horn, Minnesota had won, 4-2, on the scoreboard, despite trailing, 40-14, in shots on goal, including an, 11-6, advantage for Vegas in the third period alone.

The Wild exited the building leading in blocked shots (23-13) and faceoff win% (52-48), while the Golden Knights led in giveways (11-6) and hits (48-44).

Only the Golden Knights had ever seen any action on the power play on Monday– going 1/2 in the process– while the Wild hadn’t seen any action on the skater advantage in Game 5.

Vegas leads the series 3-2 heading into Game 6 Wednesday night at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Golden Knights can eliminate the Wild on the road with a win and viewers looking for national coverage in the United States can tune to NBCSN, while fans in Canada can catch the game on SN or TVAS.

Puck drop is expected to be a little after 9 p.m. ET.

May 25, 2021
Tuch ties series against former team in, 3-1, Vegas victory

Alex Tuch had a pair of goals– including the game-winner– as the Vegas Golden Knights tied their 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchup with the Minnesota Wild in a, 3-1, win at T-Mobile Arena in Game 2.

The series is now tied 1-1 as Marc-Andre Fleury (1-1, 0.98 goals-against average, .969 save percentage in two games played) made 34 saves on 35 shots faced in the win for Vegas on Tuesday.

Wild goaltender, Cam Talbot (1-1, 1.48 goals-against average, .957 save percentage in two games played) turned aside 25 out of 28 shots against in the loss.

Once more, the Golden Knights were without the services of Max Pacioretty on Tuesday.

No goals were scored in the opening frame, but there was one thing on the event sheet thanks to Alec Martinez’s hooking penalty at 4:13 of the first period.

Minnesota did not convert on the ensuing power play, however.

After 20 minutes of action, the score still read, 0-0, while the Wild led in shots on goal, 17-10.

The Golden Knights held the advantage in takeaways (4-2), giveaways (3-2), hits (20-14) and faceoff win percentage (53-47), while Minnesota led in blocked shots (6-5).

Only the Wild had seen any time on the skater advantage, though they were 0/1 on the power play heading into the first intermission.

Midway through the middle frame, Matt Dumba (1) opened the game’s scoring with a shot from the point that beat Fleury over the blocker while Marcus Foligno acted as a screen in front of the crease.

Jonas Brodin (1) and Jordan Greenway (2) had the primary and secondary assists, respectively, on Dumba’s goal as the Wild jumped out to a, 1-0, lead at 12:07 of the second period.

It wasn’t long before Vegas evened things up, however.

In fact, just 18 seconds after Dumba notched his fourth career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal, the Golden Knights shifted momentum their way as Reilly Smith fed Jonathan Marchessault while entering the zone.

Marchessault (1) snapped a shot over Talbot’s glove, off the post and into the back of the twine to tie the game, 1-1, at 12:25.

Smith (1) and William Karlsson (1) had the assists on Marchessault’s goal.

Less than a few minutes later, Ian Cole tripped William Carrier and presented the Golden Knights with their first power play of the night at 15:04 of the second period. Vegas did not convert on the resulting skater advantage, however.

Minnesota was caught in the vulnerable minute after special teams play, though, as Alex Pietrangelo kickstarted a rush, whereby Mattias Janmark found Tuch (1) for his first goal of the night– giving the Golden Knights their first lead thus far in the series.

Janmark (1) and Pietrangelo (1) had the assists as Vegas took the lead, 2-1, on Tuch’s first goal of the game at 17:19.

Heading into the second intermission, the Golden Knights led, 2-1, on the scoreboard, despite trailing, 27-22, in shots on goal (Vegas had the advantage in second period shots on goal alone, though, 12-10).

The Wild led in blocked shots (21-10), while Vegas dominated in takeaways (8-4), giveaways (8-5), hits (44-32) and faceoff win% (52-48).

Both teams were 0/1 on the power play heading into the final frame Tuesday night.

Dumba and Pietrangelo got tangled up almost midway through the third period and received roughing infractions at 7:50 of the final frame, yielding 4-on-4 action for a pair of minutes.

With 1:53 left in the action, Wild head coach, Dean Evason, pulled Talbot for an extra attacker only to lose the 6-on-5 advantage shortly thereafter when Kirill Kaprizov got a stick underneath Marchessault and tripped up the Golden Knights forward at 18:30 of the third period.

It didn’t take Vegas long for Chandler Stephenson to to pinch along the boards, work the puck below the goal line, then send a pass to Tuch (2) in the low slot for a one-timer off of Talbot’s pad and through the short side.

Stephenson (1) and Mark Stone (1) tallied the assists on Tuch’s power-play goal and the Golden Knights led, 3-1, at 19:07.

Talbot vacated the crease once again with 52.3 seconds left but it was to no avail as the seconds ticked down until the final horn sounded and Vegas had officially sealed the deal on a, 3-1, win in Game 2– tying their best-of-seven series with Minnesota 1-1.

The Wild finished the night leading in shots on goal, 35-28, including an, 8-6, advantage in the third period alone.

Minnesota also held the advantage in blocked shots (26-20), while the Golden Knights dominated in just about every other category, including giveaways (11-7), hits (63-46) and faceoff win% (60-40).

Vegas finished 1/2 on the power play, while the Wild went 0/1 on the skater advantage on Tuesday.

The series is tied 1-1 heading into Minnesota for Game 3 at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday. Puck drop is scheduled for a little after 9:30 p.m. ET and fans in the United States can tune to NBCSN for national coverage, while those in Canada can catch the action on SN360 or TVAS2.

May 19, 2021
Talbot earns shutout in, 1-0, OT victory for Wild

Cam Talbot stopped all 42 shots that he faced as Joel Eriksson Ek scored the game’s only goal early in overtime to lift the Minnesota Wild over the Vegas Golden Knights, 1-0, in Game 1 of their 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchup at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

With the win, the Wild jumped out to a 1-0 series lead on the road as the Golden Knights are the higher seed in the series.

Talbot (1-0, 0.00 goals-against average, 1.000 save percentage in one game) picked up his fifth career postseason shutout– his first with Minnesota– and is tied with six goaltenders behind Curtis Joseph for the most shutouts among different franchises in Stanley Cup Playoff history.

Joseph had at least one shutout in his playoff tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings, while Talbot has now recorded at least one shutout in the postseason with the Oilers, Calgary Flames and Wild.

At the other end of the rink, Marc-Andre Fleury (0-1, 0.95 goals-against average, .967 save percentage in one game) had 29 saves on 30 shots against in the loss for Vegas.

As a result of starting the game, Fleury became the first goaltender in National Hockey League history to play in 15 consecutive postseasons.

Fleury made his NHL debut in the 2003-04 regular season with the Pittsburgh Penguins before appearing in a playoff game with the club in 2007, as the team made the postseason for the first time since 2001.

He’s amassed 15 shutouts in 147 career Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Penguins (10) and Golden Knights (5), which leads all active netminders in the postseason.

The Golden Knights and Wild are meeting for the first time in a Stanley Cup Playoff series as the two teams have never met before the 2021 First Round.

Vegas has never missed the postseason– making their 4th consecutive appearance in the playoffs since joining the league as an expansion team for the 2017-18 season.

Minnesota is making their 11th appearance in franchise history in the postseason, dating back to their founding as an expansion club in the 2000-01 season.

Max Pacioretty (undisclosed) wasn’t available for Game 1, so the Golden Knights clearly missed having one of their prolific scorers in the low-scoring matchup.

Matt Dumba sent the puck over the glass and out of play, yielding an automatic minor infraction for delay of game and presenting the Golden Knights with the first power play of the afternoon at 2:55 of the first period.

Vegas couldn’t convert on the ensuing skater advantage, however.

Late in the opening frame, Kevin Fiala caught Alex Pietrangelo with a slash and was assessed a minor penalty– cutting a rut to the sin bin at 18:38.

Though the resulting power play for Vegas would spill over into the middle frame, the Golden Knights weren’t able to beat Minnesota’s penalty kill.

After one period of play on Sunday afternoon, the score remained even at, 0-0.

The Golden Knights led in shots on goal, 19-5, while also holding the advantage in takeaways (5-1) and faceoff win percentage (65-35).

The Wild held the lead in blocked shots (11-1) and hits (25-23), while both teams had yet to record a giveaway and only Vegas (0/2) had seen action on the power play.

There were no goals in the second period as Fleury turned aside all 18 shots that he faced through 40 minutes and Talbot stopped 30 out of 30 shots against heading into the second intermission.

Late in the middle frame, however, Pietrangelo tripped Nico Sturm, presenting the Wild with their first power play of the game at 19:33 of the second period.

Minnesota’s skater advantage would yield some remaining time with 5-on-4 action to kick off the final frame of regulation.

Though the score was tied, 0-0, the Golden Knights led in shots on goal, 30-18, despite the Wild outshooting Vegas, 13-11, in the second period alone.

Minnesota held the advantage in blocked shots (17-7) and hits (53-40), while Vegas led in takeaways (9-5), giveaways (6-1) and faceoff win% (66-34) after two periods.

The Golden Knights were 0/2 and the Wild were 0/1 on the power play in that span.

Midway through the third period, Dumba hooked Mark Stone and presented the Golden Knights with another power play at 8:36, though Vegas was not able to capitalize on the skater advantage.

After 60 minutes of action, the score remained tied, 0-0, despite Vegas leading in shots on goal, 40-27, including a, 10-9, advantage in the third period alone.

Minnesota dominated in blocked shots (23-12) and hits 69-57), while the Golden Knights led in takeaways (12-10), giveaways (10-4) and faceoff win% (61-39).

Vegas was 0/3 and the Wild were 0/1 on the power play heading into the extra frame.

For the first time in NHL history, the league’s first three games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs all required overtime as the extra frame got underway at T-Mobile Arena Sunday afternoon.

Jonathan Marchessault hooked Ryan Hartman as the Wild forward had a opportunity in the attacking zone, presenting Minnesota with a power play in sudden death overtime at 1:11 of the extra frame.

Though the power play went unresolved, the Wild caught Vegas in the vulnerable minute after special teams action as Pietrangelo had a clearing attempt from behind his own goal line broken up.

Minnesota jumped on the loose puck off the boards and cycled it down to the goal line before working it around to Eriksson Ek (1) in the slot for the game-winning goal off of Golden Knights defender, Alec Martinez, and in behind Fleury on the change in direction.

Marcus Foligno (1) and Jordan Greenway (1) had the only assists on the goal at 3:20 of the overtime period.

Vegas finished the afternoon leading in shots on goal, 42-30, though Minnesota held the advantage in overtime alone, 3-2.

The Wild also wrapped up the afternoon leading in blocked shots (23-13) and hits (71-57), while the Golden Knights exited with the advantage in giveaways (10-5) and faceoff win% (62-38).

Vegas finished 0/3 and Minnesota went 0/2 on the power play in Game 1.

The Wild lead the series 1-0 with Game 2 scheduled for Tuesday night in Vegas. Puck drop is expected to be a little after 10 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can catch national coverage on NBCSN, while fans in Canada can tune to SN360 or TVAS for the action from T-Mobile Arena.

May 16, 2021
Halak leads Bruins to, 3-0, shutout over Wild

Joakim Nordstrom scored the eventual game-winning goal in the second period en route to the Boston Bruins’, 3-0, shutout of the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

Jaroslav Halak (22-11-4 record, 2.34 goals against average, .922 save percentage in 40 games played) made 26 saves on 26 shots against for his 5th shutout of the season (37th of his career) in the win for Boston.

Meanwhile, Wild goaltender, Alex Stalock (6-7-3, 2.99 GAA, .896 SV% in 20 GP) stopped 32 out of 34 shots faced for a .941 SV% in the loss.

The Bruins improved to 49-23-9 (107 points) on the season and have already clinched 2nd place in the Atlantic Division. The Wild fell to 37-35-9 (83 points) and remain 6th in the Central Division– already eliminated from postseason contention.

Boston improved to 20-15-6 on the road this season and 28-9-5 since Jan. 1st with the win.

With two games left in the regular season entering Thursday and a First Round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs to prepare for, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy rested Zdeno Chara, Brad Marchand, David Krejci and Charlie McAvoy and sat them out of the lineup.

Chris Wagner (lower body) also missed Thursday night’s action, while John Moore (upper body) and Sean Kuraly (fractured right hand) remain week-to-week.

Zach Senyshyn and Trent Frederic were recalled on emergency basis from the Providence Bruins (AHL) on Wednesday.

Senyshyn made his NHL debut for the B’s Thursday night and was placed on the second line right wing with Marcus Johansson and Charlie Coyle.

Cassidy left Jake DeBrusk, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak as his first line, but did not play them much.

Meanwhile, Danton Heinen returned from an illness on Tuesday and took the ice on the third line left wing with Frederic down the middle and Karson Kuhlman on the right side.

Nordstrom, Noel Acciari and David Backes remained the usual suspects on the fourth line.

With Chara and McAvoy out of the lineup, Cassidy slid every defender on the depth chart up a pairing.

Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo were the first pair, Matt Grzelcyk and Kevan Miller were the second pair and Steven Kampfer suited up alongside Connor Clifton as the latter two defenders returned to the lineup after serving as healthy scratches on Tuesday in Columbus.

There were no penalties and there was no scoring in the first period as Senyshyn became the 7th Bruin to make his NHL debut this season and Cassidy kicked off his 300th game as an NHL head coach.

After one period, Minnesota held the advantage in shots on goal (9-8), blocked shots (5-4), takeaways (2-1), giveaways (3-0) and hits (7-4), while Boston led in face-off win percentage (53-47).

Both clubs had yet to see time on the skater advantage entering the first intermission.

The B’s had an injury scare 20 seconds into the 2nd period as Miller collided with Jordan Greenway and slid into the lower portion of the boards without being able to brace for impact. Miller left the game briefly to return later in the period, but did not return for the third period.

Cassidy indicated Miller has a lower body injury, but should be good to go on Saturday.

Midway through the period, Grzelcyk fired a shot that caromed off the end boards as Acciari worked the puck from the rebound to Nordstrom in front of the goal.

Nordstrom (7) fired a shot past Stalock and the Bruins led, 1-0, at 8:21 of the second period.

Acciari (8) and Grzelcyk (15) tallied the assists on the goal.

Late in the period, Luke Kunin cross checked Clifton and was assessed a minor penalty at 14:54. Boston did not convert on the ensuing power play.

Through 40 minutes of play, the Bruins led, 1-0, on the scoreboard and, 26-18, in shots on goal (including an, 18-9, advantage in the second period alone).

The Wild led in blocked shots (13-4), takeaways (7-5), giveaways (4-1) and hits (13-8) after two periods, while Boston continued to lead in face-off win% (52-48).

Minnesota had yet to see any time on the power play, but Boston was 0/1 entering the third period.

Kunin exchanged pleasantries early in the third period with Carlo and the two received matching roughing minors at 1:58.

Almost four minute later, Clifton was penalized for interference at 5:44 of the third period and the Wild went on the power play for their first time of the night.

Minnesota failed to capitalized on their only skater advantage opportunity of the game.

Midway through the final frame of regulation, Brad Hunt picked up an interference minor and the B’s went back on the power play at 11:30. Boston’s power play was unsuccessful.

Moments later, after DeBrusk brought the puck deep into the offensive zone, No. 74 in black and gold flipped the rubber biscuit through the slot on a backhand pass to Pastrnak (38) for the two-goal lead.

DeBrusk (15) and Carlo (8) notched the assists on Pastrnak’s goal at 17:15 and the Bruins led, 2-0.

With almost two minutes remaining in regulation, Bruce Boudreau pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker as the Wild tried to even things up in their final home game of the season.

Things did not go as planned.

Less than a minute after Pastrnak’s goal, Senyshyn (1) received a pass from Johansson and buried the puck on the empty net to make it an insurmountable three-goal lead at 17:51.

Johansson (17) and Kampfer (2) were credited with the assists as the Bruins led, 3-0, in Kampfer’s 200th career NHL game.

At the final horn, Boston won the game, 3-0, and finished the night leading in shots on goal (35-26) and face-off win% (54-46). Minnesota wrapped up their last home game of the 2018-19 season leading in blocked shots (15-14), giveaways (7-3) and hits (18-13).

The B’s were 0/2 on the power play and the Wild finished Thursday night 0/1 on the skater advantage.

The Bruins finish the 2018-19 regular season at home on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Boston will host the Maple Leafs in the First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs for Games 1 and 2 (5 and 7, if necessary).

April 5, 2019
Bruins score wild goals in 4-0 win over Minnesota

Don’t look now, but the Boston Bruins are on a five-game winning streak after shutting out the Minnesota Wild, 4-0, Tuesday night at TD Garden. The Bruins haven’t lost since Dec. 29th’s, 3-2, comeback win in overtime against the Sabres in Buffalo.

Boston improved to 15-3-2 when scoring first this season, as Danton Heinen recorded the game’s first goal. Brad Marchand, Jake DeBrusk and Patrice Bergeron each added goals of their own in the Bruins’ win.

Tuukka Rask (12-8-2 record, 2.43 goals against average, .920 save percentage in 22 games played) made 24 saves on 24 shots against for the win and his first shutout of the season.

Rask’s last shutout came on March 17, 2018 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tuesday night’s shutout was the 42nd of his career.

Alex Stalock (5-4-0, 2.75 GAA, .894 SV% in 11 GP) stopped 23 out of 27 shots faced for an .852 SV% in the loss for the Wild.

The B’s improved to 25-14-4 (54 points) on the season and remain 3rd in the Atlantic Division– two points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for 2nd place and two points ahead of the 4th place Sabres.

Minnesota fell to 21-18-3 (45 points) and remained 5th place in the Central Division.

Bruce Cassidy left his lines alone for Boston with Joakim Nordstrom (non-displaced fibular fracture) and Charlie McAvoy (lower body) still out of the lineup due to injury and Colby Cave, as well as Steven Kampfer, as the only healthy scratches Tuesday.

Heinen (5) notched the game’s first goal early in the first period after Torey Krug went d-to-d with a pass across the point to John Moore.

Moore fired a shot that Heinen tipped in past Stalock at 5:23 to give Boston the, 1-0, lead with Moore (6) and Krug (23) tallying the assists.

Moments later, Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara, cut a rut to the penalty box after being penalized for interference, having bumped into Minnesota’s Jordan Greenway without the puck at 7:00 of the first period.

The Bruins successfully killed off Chara’s minor infraction and momentum further swung to their side as almost a few minutes after the Wild’s power play failed, Marchand was in the right place at the right time.

Moore worked the puck over to Bergeron, who then fired a shot that went wide of the goal and caromed off the end-boards to Marchand as No. 63 in black-and-gold crashed the net.

Marchand (16) put home the rebound as Stalock was moving a step behind across the crease, giving Moore his first two-point game in a Bruins uniform.

Bergeron (23) and Moore (7) were credited with the assists at 11:29.

Late in the opening frame, the B’s and Wild swapped minor penalties with Kevan Miller going to the box first for holding Nino Niederreiter at 16:16, then Minnesota’s Eric Staal following up with a tripping minor against Rask at 17:42.

After an abbreviated 4-on-4 sequence, the Bruins went on an abbreviated power play that yielded their third goal of the period and first of two power play goals on the night.

Bergeron fired a shot towards the goal that deflected off of DeBrusk’s (14) chest and went past Stalock to give Boston a three-goal lead.

Bergeron (24) and Marchand (30) had the assists on DeBrusk’s goal at 19:15 of the first period and the B’s led, 3-0.

DeBrusk has four goals and one assist (five points) in his six games since returning from concussion-like symptoms.

Entering the first intermission, Boston was ahead by three goals and led in shots on goal, 15-6. Minnesota led in blocked shots (4-1), giveaways (5-2) and hits (13-9) after 20 minutes, while the Bruins led in face-off win percentage (67-33).

Both teams had two takeaways each through one period as the Wild went 0/2 on the power play and the B’s went 1/1.

Early in the second period, Zach Parise tripped Bergeron just past the six-minute mark of the middle frame and the Bruins went back on the power play.

Less than 20 seconds later, Bergeron (14) got his revenge on the scoreboard, redirecting a shot past Stalock for the power play goal at 6:24 of the second period.

Marchand (31) and Krug (24) had the assists on Bergeron’s goal and the Bruins led, 4-0.

Almost midway through the second period, with the pace in play rather deflated, Moore was charged with interference against Luke Kunin, resulting in the Wild’s final power play of the night and last chance to muster anything resembling the commencement of a comeback.

Minnesota did not convert on the ensuing skater advantage.

Through 40 minutes of play at TD Garden, the Bruins led, 4-0, on the scoreboard and, 20-18, in shots on goal. Minnesota actually outshot Boston, 12-5, in the second period alone, but the Wild couldn’t get past the brick wall of Rask in Boston’s crease.

The B’s led in blocked shots (13-5) and face-off win% (59-41) after two periods. Minnesota led in takeaways (6-3), giveaways (8-5) and hits (23-16), while finishing the night 0/3 on the power play.

The Bruins went 2/2 on the skater advantage Tuesday night.

There were no penalties and there was no scoring in the third period from either club as the Bruins secured the, 4-0, victory and finished the night leading in shots on goal (27-24), blocked shots (18-9), giveaways (12-11) and face-off win% (54-46).

The Wild finished the night leading in hits (28-21).

Boston hosts the Washington Capitals this Thursday night at the Garden before traveling to Scotiabank Arena for a battle with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night.

The Bruins return home for a Monday night (Jan. 14th) rivalry matchup with the Montreal Canadiens, before traveling to Philadelphia for the first of back-to-back games on the road at Wells Fargo Center against the Flyers next Wednesday (Jan. 16th) and at home against the St. Louis Blues next Thursday (Jan. 17th).

They’ll play one more game after that against the New York Rangers at home next Saturday (Jan. 19th) before the All-Star break and bye week begins for Boston.

January 9, 2019
Down the Frozen River Podcast #103- Good Two See You

Second Round predictions, Minnesota needs a new GM, Calgary’s got a new coach, award finalist reactions, a Game 7 breakdown between Boston and Toronto, and where do the Leafs go from here? All that and more as Nick and Connor discuss on the latest DTFR Podcast.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) and/or on Stitcher.

April 26, 2018
Wild go crazy in 4-goal 2nd period, win 6-2 in Game 3

Minnesota’s offense exploded in a four-goal second period and the Wild defeated the Winnipeg Jets, 6-2, on Sunday night at Xcel Energy Center.

Devan Dubnyk had 29 saves on 31 shots against for a .935 save percentage in the win, while Connor Hellebuyck stopped 16 shots out of 22 shots faced for a .727 SV% in 40:00 time on ice in the loss. Jets backup goaltender, Steve Mason, turned aside all seven shots he faced in the third period.

It didn’t take long for the action to get going in Game 3 as Minnesota defenseman, Matt Dumba, was sent to the penalty box just 43 seconds into the first period for slashing Jets captain, Blake Wheeler. Winnipeg had a couple great looks on the power play, but was unable to convert on their first power play opportunity of the night.

A few minutes later, Matt Cullen, was taking the skate of shame to the sin bin for slashing Winnipeg’s Adam Lowry, much to the dismay of the fans in the building who all disagreed with the call. Cullen himself was not pleased, but the refs set the standard for the night— nothing was going unnoticed.

Almost a minute into their second power play of the night, Wheeler (1) had the puck near the hash-mark to the left of Dubnyk and fired a wrist shot that deflected off of Wild blue liner, Jonas Brodin, and beat Dubnyk’s short side and gave the Jets a 1-0 lead on just his third career Stanley Cup Playoff goal.

Wheeler’s power play goal came at 4:50 of the first period and was assisted by Dustin Byfuglien (3) and Patrik Laine (2). With the assist, Laine now has points in each of his first three career postseason games in what was also the third consecutive game where Winnipeg scored first.

Jets defenseman, Ben Chiarot, delivered a cross check to Eric Staal and was assessed a minor penalty at 7:26. Shortly thereafter, after Hellebuyck had frozen the puck for a faceoff, already shorthanded, Adam Lowry roughed up Minnesota’s Jason Zucker.

Lowry was handed a minor penalty for roughing and the Wild went from a regular 5-on-4 power play to a two-man advantage with about 1:21 remaining on the first penalty. The Wild did not pass up on the 5-on-3 opportunity.

After Paul Stastny had already broken up a one-timer intended for Zach Parise, Minnesota went to work again in the offensive zone.

Mikael Granlund pinched in from the point on the power play to keep the play alive, sending the puck across the ice, where Mikko Koivu eventually ended up with it on his stick. Koivu quickly fired a shot, but Hellebuyck made the save, though the puck rebounded. That’s when Granlund (1) was able to pocket the loose puck in the twine as he was crashing the net to tie the game, 1-1.

The goal, Granlund’s first of the postseason, was assisted by Koivu (3) and Staal (1) at 9:47 of the first period.

Play settled down for a bit until Chiarot cross-checked Minnesota’s Charlie Coyle and was sent to the box with 2:59 remaining in the period. It only took 49 seconds on the power play for Zach Parise (3) to convert on the man advantage and give the Wild their first lead of the night, 2-1.

Koivu set up the play after quickly realizing where Parise was positioned, feigning a shot on net when in actually firing a hard pass towards the goal for Parise— who had his stick on the ice the whole time— to redirect past Hellebuyck. Koivu (4) and Jonas Brodin (2) picked up the assists on Parise’s goal.

In the closing minute of the period, Josh Morrissey centered the puck to Kyle Connor for a redirect on Dubnyk, but Dubnyk denied the Jets of any follow up chances, having absorbed the puck and covered it up.

Regardless, after the whistle, Dumba and Mark Scheifele got involved in a bit of an exchange that resulted in Dumba going to the box for roughing at 19:27.

After 20 minutes of play, the Minnesota Wild led 2-1 on the scoreboard and 13-7 in shots on goal. Minnesota also led in blocked shots (6-5), hits (9-7) and giveaways (4-2), meanwhile Winnipeg led in takeaways (2-0). The Jets were 1/3 on the power play in the first period and the Wild were 2/3 on the man advantage in the opening frame.

Nick Seeler opened up the second period at Xcel Energy Center by beating Hellebuyck and ringing the goalpost. Shortly thereafter, Minnesota scored anyway.

Joel Eriksson Ek set up in front of the goal after passing the puck to Daniel Winnik, who lobbed it over to Matt Dumba. Dumba (1) fired a shot past a screened Hellebuyck and into the net to give the Wild a 3-1 lead. The goal was Dumba’s first playoff goal since 2015 and Winnik (1) and Eriksson Ek (1) picked up the assists.

Eriksson Ek’s assist was his first career playoff point.

A few minutes later, Tyler Myers (2) and the Jets made it a close game after Myers found a loose puck with a clear path to the goal and sent a cannon of a slap shot over the right pad of Devan Dubnyk to make it a 3-2 game. Myers now has goals in back-to-back games, but would leave the game later in the second period with what appeared to be a lower body injury. He did not return.

After Myers’s goal, the Wild took a string of penalties, first for Parise tripping Wheeler at 7:23 and then for Coyle holding Winnipeg defenseman, Jacob Trouba at 10:24.

Winnipeg was not able to amount anything on the scoreboard on either power play and the Wild kept rolling along.

Staal (1) notched his first of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs at 14:40 of the second period when Granlund used the boards to snag the puck in the offensive zone, then send a spin-o-rama pass to Staal for a one-timer that beat Hellebuyck. Granlund (2) and Dumba (1) had the assists on the goal that made it 4-2, Minnesota.

Twenty seconds later, Boston University product and U.S. Olympian, Jordan Greenway (1) scored his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal to make it 5-2, and the barrage of offense for the Wild continued. Matt Cullen (1) and Nick Seeler (1) had the assists on Greenway’s first NHL goal in both regular season and postseason play.

Marcus Foligno (1) kept the trend of first career postseason goals going as he scored a few minutes after Greenway made it 5-2. Foligno’s goal came at 18:23 of the second period and made it 6-2, Wild. Jared Spurgeon (1) and Seeler (2) had the assists as Minnesota completely dominated every action on the ice.

Through 40 minutes of play, the Wild led 6-2 on the scoreboard and 22-19 in shots on goal. Minnesota also led in blocked shots (15-5) and giveaways (6-4). Winnipeg led in hits (17-15) and takeaways (3-2) after two periods. The Jets were 1/5 on the power play and the Wild were 2/3 heading into the second intermission.

Winnipeg head coach, Paul Maurice, made a change in goal heading into the third period, replacing Connor Hellebuyck with Jets backup, Steve Mason, for the final frame of regulation.

There was no scoring, nor any penalties called in the third period and Bruce Boudreau’s Minnesota Wild played a conservative period, mixed with high caliber defense and some offensive chances.

Minnesota held on to a 6-2 win in Game 3, cutting Winnipeg’s series lead in half (2-1), and forcing at least a Game 5. The Jets outshot the Wild 31-29 after 60 minutes of play, but Minnesota led in blocked shots (20-8) and faceoff win percentage (52-48).

Winnipeg finished the game leading in hits 26-19 and finished the night 1/5 on the power play. The Wild finished the night 2/3 on the man advantage.

Game 4 is set for Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center where the Wild will look to tie the series, 2-2. Puck drop is expected a little after 8:00 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can tune in on CNBC, while Canadian fans can get their fill on Sportsnet and TVAS2.

April 15, 2018