Down the Frozen River

Tag: Nino Niederreiter

  • February 8 – Day 112 – Selections are Slim, Vol. II

    For your viewing pleasure, here’s tonight’s listings.

    • Chicago Blackhawks at Minnesota Wild – 8 p.m. eastern – NBCSN, SN and TVAS
    • Blindspot – 8 p.m. eastern – NBC
    • Criminal Minds – 9 p.m. eastern – CBS
    • Empire – 9 p.m. eastern – FOX
    • Modern Family – 9 p.m. eastern – ABC
    • Code Black – 10 p.m. eastern – CBS

    I’m with Ariel on this one, no matter how funny Phil Dunphy is. That’s why they invented the DVR.

    For not having other viewing options, the NHL made sure to set us up with a fantastic brewing rivalry that should yield some exciting hockey.

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    This will be Chicago‘s eighth time being featured in the Game of the Day, while Minnesota is making only their sixth appearance. Within the DtFR series, the teams have 4-3-0 and 2-2-1 records, respectively.

    Chicago makes their first trip of the season to the Xcel Energy Center riding a two-game winning streak and with a 32-17-5 record, good enough for second place in the Central Division. Although they play very well on both ends of the ice, I’m most impressed by the Blackhawks‘ goaltending, which has allowed only 140 goals in 54 games – the 10th-best rate in the NHL.

    Numbers like that have to start with the goalie. Corey Crawford has earned his 20-12-3 record with a season .917 save percentage and 2.58 GAA, the (t)17th and 22nd-best efforts, respectively, among the 47 netminders with at least 18 appearances.

    Crawford doesn’t seem incredible on paper, but presenting goaltending numbers without shots faced doesn’t tell the whole story. Measured by shots against-per-game, the Blackhawks have the ninth-worst defense in the game, allowing 31.1 shots to reach Crawford’s crease every night. Niklas Hjalmarsson has tried his hardest to keep pucks off his netminder with his team-leading (and tied for fourth-most in the league) 132 shot blocks, but he’s the only skater with more than 85 to his credit. I expect Stan Bowman to be actively looking for a top-four, and maybe top-two, defenseman before the March 1 trade deadline.

    That shoddy defense truly yields its ugly head when a Hawk takes a seat in the penalty box. Chicago‘s 76.4% penalty kill rate is third-worst in the league, and the worst among playoff-qualifiers by at least 2.9%. Once again, Hjalmarsson has been the best skater when down a man, but his team-leading 25 shorthanded blocks have done little to inspire the team as no other Blackhawk has more than 18.

    Also winners of their last two games, Minnesota enters play tonight with a 35-12-5 record, the best mark in the Western Conference and second-best in the league. Just like Chicago, the Wild play exceptionally well on both ends of the ice, but their biggest strength has been their offense, which has managed 174 tallies in 52 games – the third-best rate in the league.

    Mikael Granlund was recently featured in Frank Fanelli’s “Sick Hands Sunday” segment, and for good reason. Thanks in part to a hat trick on Saturday, Granlund leads the club with 48 points to his credit, but it wasn’t enough to propel him past power play linemate Nino Niederreiter for the clubhouse goal scoring title. Niederreiter has lit the lamp 17 times for Minnesota.

    Tonight’s contest is only Game Two of the four-game regular season series between these clubs. They met for the first time on January 15 -another matchup that was broadcast nationally in the States. That contest took place in the Windy City, where the Wild were able to earn a 4-3 victory thanks to three-straight unanswered goals to close the game.

    Some players to keep an eye on in tonight’s game include Chicago‘s Patrick Kane (35 assists [tied for fourth-most in the NHL] among 52 points [tied for eighth-most in the league]) & Minnesota‘s Mathew Dumba (+24 [tied for ninth-best in the NHL]), Granlund (+30 [tied for fifth-best in the league] on 33 assists [tied for eighth-most in the NHL]), Mikko Koivu (+30 [tied for fifth-best in the league]), Jared Spurgeon (+31 [fourth-most in the NHL]), Ryan Suter (+32 [tied for best in the league]) and Jason Zucker (+32 [tied for best in the NHL]).

    Seemingly to add a bit of drama to tonight’s game, Bruce Boudreau has elected to start Darcy Kuemper in net instead of Devan Dubnyk. Because of that, I believe the Hawks will be able to win a barn-burner of a game.

    Hockey Birthday:

    • Dino Ciccarelli (1960-) – Ciccarelli played 1232 games over 19 seasons in the NHL, putting in the most time with the Minnesota North Stars (nine seasons and 602 games), his first club. The right wing has the notable distinction of most goals scored (608) by an undrafted player. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010.
    • Kirk Muller (1966-) – Muller played 1349 games over 19 seasons, with a majority of that time spent in New Jersey (556 games over seven seasons), the team that drafted him with the second-overall pick in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. Nowadays, Muller wears a suit to games as an associate coach with Montréal, but spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach in St. Louis.

    When you score every period, odds are usually good that you’re going to win. That was the case last night for the Rangers, as they beat Anaheim 4-1 at Madison Square Garden in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    Oscar Lindberg (Pavel Buchnevich and Marc Staal) takes credit for the tally in the first period. He buried his wrister 4:01 after the initial puck drop to give New York a 1-0 lead.

    The Blueshirts‘ second goal was struck 1:06 after returning to the ice from the first intermission. Mats Zuccarello (Chris Kreider and Brady Skjei) takes credit with his snap shot. It became the game-winner because Jakob Silfverberg (Andrew Cogliano) was able to pull the Ducks back within a score 5:08 later, setting the score at 2-1 going into the second intermission.

    Things started falling apart for Anaheim in the third period, as Second Star Michael Grabner was able to light the lamp twice. One was an honest goal only 3:45 after resuming play (Third Star J.T. Miller and Skjei), but his second (Miller and Kevin Hayes) with 19 seconds remaining was on an empty net, sealing New York‘s victory.

    First Star Henrik Lundqvist impressively saved 43-of-44 shots faced (97.7%) to earn the victory, leaving the loss to John Gibson, who saved only 16-of-19 (84.2%).

    New York‘s victory was the 60th by a home team in the DtFR Game of the Day series. That improves the hosts’ record to 60-37-17, nine points better than the visitors.

  • February 1 – Day 105 – Get your brooms ready

    Last night was beyond busy in the NHL. While those types of evenings are fun, sometimes it’s nice to only have a few games to keeps tabs on. Tonight is one of those nights, as only six teams drop the puck. Boston at Washington (NBCSN/TVAS) gets things started at 8 p.m., and is basically the only game going on during that time-frame. The next game to get underway is Minnesota at Calgary (SN360), but that isn’t until 10 p.m. The nightcap is right behind, as Colorado at Los Angeles (NBCSN) gets started only half an hour later. All times eastern.

    Not only do I not like repeating teams twice in a row (sorry Washington!), tonight’s contest in Calgary could act as a playoff preview. Off to Cowtown we go!

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    It’s hard to argue with those that believe Minnesota is the best team in the Western Conference. Riding a three-game winning streak, their 33-11-5 record is five points better than second-best San Jose, and they’ve been led by an impressive goaltender that has allowed only 109 goals this season, the second-fewest in the NHL.

    Since Darcy Kuemper played last night in Edmonton, 27-8-3 Devan Dubnyk will be more than ready to go this evening. That’s bad news for the Flames, as his .936 save percentage and 1.88 GAA are both the best marks in the league.

    What makes Dubnyk’s season so impressive is that the bluelines playing in front of him are nothing more than average, as they allow 30.6 shots to reach his crease per night – tied for the 12th-most in the NHL. Jared Spurgeon and his 90 shot blocks have been at the head of the defensive front and tie for 32nd-most against the rest of the league.

    Combine those two aspects of the defensive end, and you find a club that has the sixth-best penalty kill with a 83.8% success rate. Mikael Granlund has been the most effective skater on that effort, as he leads the Wild with 13 shorthanded blocks.

    The Land of 10,000 Lakes is also the home of the 10th-best power play in the league (ok, they’re technically tied for 10th), finding success 21.3% of the time. Granlund is apparently the Wild‘s special teams ringer, as his 12 power play points are tops in the dressing room, but Nino Niederreiter has been the one scoring all the goals. He has six man-advantage tallies to his credit, the most in Minnesota.

    Playing host this evening are the 25-24-3 Flames, the ninth-best team in the Western Conference thanks to Los Angeles beating Arizona last night. That being said, simply making it to overtime tonight would move them back into playoff position.

    The reason Calgary finds itself on the bubble is due to its lackluster defense and goaltending, which has allowed 147 tallies so far this season, the ninth-most in the NHL. That starts with 16-12-1 Chad Johnson, who has a .913 save percentage and 2.5 GAA – the (t)27th and (t)18th-best effort, respectively, among the 49 goalies with at least 15 appearances.

    A decent GAA paired with a below-average save percentage is usually the mark of a decent defense, and that’s exactly the case the Wild will find this evening in the Saddledome. Led by Mark Giordano‘s 116 shot blocks (tied for sixth-most in the league), the Flames allow only 28 shots to reach Johnson’s crease per game – the sixth-best effort in the game.

    Although they’re the ones currently sitting on the outside of the playoffs looking in, it’s been the Flames that have dominated the season series between these clubs so far this year. Calgary has yet to drop a game to the Wild even if their most recent meeting on December 2 required a shootout to determine the 3-2 result.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include Calgary‘s Mikael Backlund (34 points [leads the team]), Troy Brouwer (98 hits and .16 shot percentage [both lead the team]), Giordano (116 blocks [leads the team]), Dougie Hamilton (144 shots and 25 assists [both lead the team]) and Sean Monahan (16 goals [leads the team]) & Minnesota‘s Dubnyk (1.88 GAA on a .936 save percentage [both best in the league] for 27 wins [second-most in the NHL], including five shutouts [tied for second-most in the league]), Matthew Dumba (+22 [eighth-best in the NHL]), Granlund (+26 [tied for sixth-best in the league]), Mikko Koivu (+26 [tied for sixth-best in the NHL]), Spurgeon (+28 [tied for third-best in the league]), Ryan Suter (+30 [tied for the NHL-lead]) and Jason Zucker (+30 [tied for the league-lead]).

    Vegas has marked Calgary a slight underdog, placing a +105 next to their name. Personally, I’d take that bet. Not only do they have the history beating Dubnyk this season, they’re playing at home after a nice long All-Star break, compared to the Wild who just played last night. I like the Flames to complete the season-sweep and get back into the playoff bracket.

    Hockey Birthday

    • Mark Recchi (1968-) – Although drafted in the fourth round of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft by rival Pittsburgh, this right wing spent most his career in Philadelphia. That being said, none of the seven-time All-Star’s three Stanley Cups were with the Flyers.
    • Kyle Palmieri (1991-) – Another right wing, Palmieri was drafted 26th-overall by Anaheim in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He spent the first five seasons of his NHL career with the Ducks before moving on to New Jersey before the 2015-16 season.

    The wins just keep rolling in for the Islanders. They won their third-straight game 3-2 last night against the league-leading Capitals in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    It’s only made sweeter by the fact that it was a comeback victory. That’s because Evgeny Kuznetsov (Justin Williams and Brooks Orpik) was able to bury his snap shot only 4:41 after the game’s initial puck drop. That was the lone tally of the first period.

    With a power play slap shot 2:41 after returning to the ice for the second period, Second Star of the Game Alan Quine (Third Star Andrew Ladd and Calvin de Haan) leveled the contest for New York. Once again, it was the lone score of the frame to set up a deciding third period.

    The Isles responded well coming out of intermission, with their surge completed by First Star Ryan Strome‘s (Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier) wrister to give them the lead. The game remained 2-1 until Johnny Boychuk (Casey Cizikas and John Tavares) took advantage of an empty net with 68 seconds remaining in the contest. Impressively, Alex Ovechkin (Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov) was able to make it only a one-goal differential with his slap shot, but the Capitals were unable to level with the remaining 47 seconds.

    Thomas Greiss earns the victory after saving 28-of-30 shots faced (93.3%), leaving the loss to Philipp Grubauer, who saved 26-of-28 (92.9%).

    Not only is the Islanders‘ victory their third-straight, it is also the second-straight win by the home team in the DtFR Game of the Day series. That advances the hosts’ record in the series to 56-35-16, seven points better than the roadies.

  • December 31 – Day 77 – A streak must end in St. Paul

    The day you’ve been worried about has finally arrived. After today, there’s no more hockey in 2016.

    Fortunately, 2017 is right around the corner and has tons of hockey in store!

    New Year’s Eve features 11 contests,  and the action starts at 1 p.m. with two games (Buffalo at Boston and Washington at New Jersey) dropping the puck, and Columbus at Minnesota gets underway at 6 p.m. The usual starting time of 7 p.m. brings with it a trio of matchups (the New York Islanders at Winnipeg [SN], Montréal at Pittsburgh [CBC/TVAS] and Carolina at Tampa Bay), trailed an hour later by two more (the New York Rangers at Colorado and Florida at Dallas). The West Coast gets involved at 10 p.m. with a pair of games (Vancouver at Edmonton [CBC/SN] and Arizona at Calgary [CBC/SN1/SN360]), with tonight’s nightcap – San Jose at Los Angeles – waiting half an hour before dropping the puck. All times eastern.

    Short list:

    • Buffalo at Boston: Didn’t they just play this rivalry Thursday? Yes, yes they did.
    • Columbus at Minnesota: The game everybody is talking about. Both clubs have won at least their last 12 games, but one must lose today.
    • Florida at Dallas: Both Jason Demers and Colton Sceviour make their first returns to Texas after a combined seven seasons with the Stars.
    • New York at Colorado: Nick Holden is also making his first trip back to his old stomping grounds.
    • Arizona at Calgary: Josh Jooris played his first two seasons in the Saddledome before making his way to the desert.
    • San Jose at Los Angeles: The Battle of California is even more exciting this season since these clubs met in last year’s playoffs.

    Like I said yesterday, 2016 is going out with a bang. Even games not listed – Canadiens–Penguins comes to mind – are going to be exemplary. What better way to celebrate the closing of the year than at your closest arena?

    As far as our focus today, we have to head to the Land of 10,000 Lakes, truly the State of Hockey today.

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    Please raise your hand if, before the season began, you expected this matchup to be played under these circumstances.

    Just so you know, I’m going to call 90% of you liars.

    For those that are unaware, Columbus comes to the Xcel Energy Center as winners of their last 14 games, rivaled only by the Wild and their 12-game winning streak. Both streaks are certainly impressive, but Penguins fans are pulling for the Wild this afternoon – and not just for the impact on the standings. During the 1992-’93 season, Pittsburgh closed the campaign on a 17-game winning streak, the longest in NHL history.

    Columbus‘ streak has propelled them to a 25-5-4 record, the best mark in the NHL. While both sides of the ice have obviously been impressive for the Jackets, it’s been an impressive effort by the goaltender and good defense, allowing only 70 goals – tied for the fewest in the league (more on that later).

    With a 23-5-2 record in 30 starts, Sergei Bobrovsky has been in net for most of the Blue Jackets‘ victories. He backs his impressive record with a season .934 save percentage and 1.95 GAA, ranking top-three in both statistics against 42 other netminders with 15 or more appearances.

    Bobrovsky has been good on his own, but he’s also gotten good help from his defense. Led by David Savard‘s 63 shot blocks, Columbus allows exactly 30 shots per game to reach the goal crease, the 14th-lowest average in the NHL.

    Offensively, nothing is finer than the Jackets‘ power play. They bury the puck on 28% of opportunities, by far the best rate in the entire league. Cam Atkinson deserves a lot of the credit, as his 17 power play points are tops in Ohio, but he splits the extra-man goal-scoring title with Nick Foligno – both have lit the lamp seven times.

    Hosting today’s game are the 23-8-4 Wild, the second-best team in both the Central Division and the Western Conference. Just like Columbus, their incredible streak, as well as their impressive season, have been sparked by refusing to allow the opposition to score. Like Columbus, Minnesota has allowed only 70 goals.

    Yes, you read that correctly. Both these teams come into this evening’s game allowing the fewest goals in the league. This contest is more than simply some win streaks. It’s about establishing defensive dominance

    Starting netminder Devan Dubnyk enters tonight’s game with a 19-6-3 record on a .944 save percentage and 1.67 GAA – the best marks in the league among goalies with 14 or more appearances.

    This is where the similarities between this evening’s opponents begin to diverge. Dubnyk does not have the luxury Bobrovsky does in a defense that keeps the puck off his crease. Instead, Dubnyk has to fend off 30.6 shots-per-game, the (t)10th-highest total in the game. Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon cannot take any credit for Dubnyk’s exhaustion, as they both have 62 shot blocks to lead the squad. Unfortunately, they’re also the only two defensemen with more than 50 blocks to their credit.

    That hasn’t seemed to hold them back though. Specifically, the penalty kill is just as strong as ever, killing off 85.6% of opposing power plays – the fifth-best mark in the NHL. Spurgeon is joined by Mikael Granlund in leading the effort, as both have 10 shorthanded blocks to their credit.

    Some players to keep an eye on this evening include:

    Columbus Blue Jackets:

    • Atkinson (35 points [tied for ninth-most in the league])
    • Bobrovsky (23 wins [most in the NHL] on a 1.95 GAA [second-best in the league] and a .934 save percentage [tied for second-best in the NHL], as well as three shutouts [tied for fourth-most in the league])
    • Jack Johnson (+20 [sixth-best in the NHL])
    • Brandon Saad (+19 [seventh-best in the league])
    • Savard (+23 [tied for second-best in the NHL])
    • Alexander Wennberg (24 assists [tied for sixth-most in the league])

    Minnesota Wild:

    • Dubnyk (1.67 GAA on a .944 save percentage, as well as five shutouts [all best in the NHL], for 19 wins [tied for second-most in the league])
    • Granlund (+18 [tied for eighth-best in the NHL])
    • Mikko Koivu (+18 [tied for eighth-best in the league])
    • Nino Niederreiter (+16 [10th-best in the NHL])
    • Spurgeon (+23 [tied for second-best in the league])
    • Ryan Suter (+25 [leads the NHL])
    • Jason Zucker (+23 [tied for second-best in the league])

    Minnesota is marked a -124 favorite by Vegas, but this is shaping up to be arguably the best game we’ve had this season. Everything is on the line tonight in St. Paul. I like the Wild simply because they’re at home, but this should be a game for the ages.

    Hockey Birthday

    • René Robert (1948-) – The right wing on Buffalo‘s French Connection line, Robert played most of his dozen NHL seasons with the Sabres. Although that corps had such success, Robert earned only two All-Star selections.

    Led by First Star of the Game Aaron Dell‘s shutout, the Sharks bested the Flyers at the Tank 2-0 in yesterday’s DtFR Game of the Day.

    The winning goal was struck with 3:31 remaining in the first period. It was a power play wrister from Second Star Patrick Marleau (Kevin Labanc and Marc-Edouard Vlasic), set up by Ivan Provorov‘s tripping penalty.

    The game remained at 1-0 until 4:37 remained in regulation. Justin Braun (Joe Pavelski and Marleau) provided the insurance tally to ensure San Jose‘s victory.

    Dell saved all 21 shots he faced for the shutout victory, the first of his young career. Steve Mason takes the loss after saving 11-of-12 shots faced (91.7%). Unfortunately, he only played one period before being injured. He was replaced by Anthony Stolarz, who saved 21-of-22 (95.5%) for no decision.

    The DtFR Game of the Day now stands at 44-23-12, favoring the homers by 16 points over the roadies.

  • Taylor or Tyler or Neither

    By: Nick Lanciani

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    To kick off Wednesday afternoon’s unbelievable trades, Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli made history. The wrong kind of history. Chiarelli already notoriously traded Tyler Seguin (the 2nd overall pick of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft) from the Boston Bruins to the Dallas Stars in a seven player deal in the 2013 offseason, but now he’s traded the 1st overall pick in 2010— Taylor Hall.

    Yes, left winger, Taylor Hall got traded on Wednesday from the Oilers to early candidate for the 2017 General Manager of the Year Award, Ray Shero’s New Jersey Devils— the other presumptive finalist is David Poile in Nashville, for landing P.K. Subban on the same afternoon— in exchange for defenseman, Adam Larsson.

    Chiarelli is the first general manager in any of the four major professional sports in North America to trade the first two picks in a draft (Hall and Seguin, 2010). Of note, he also acquired former 6th overall pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning that same year, Brett Connolly in his waning days as general manager of the Boston Bruins, in March 2014.

    To recap, the first six players from the 2010 NHL Entry Draft have all been traded.

    1. Taylor Hall (drafted by EDM, traded to NJ)
    2. Tyler Seguin (drafted by BOS, traded to DAL)
    3. Erik Gudbranson (drafted by FLA, traded to VAN)
    4. Ryan Johansen (drafted by CBJ, traded to NSH)
    5. Nino Niederreiter (drafted by NYI, traded to MIN)
    6. Brett Connolly (drafted by TB, traded to BOS)

    New Jersey finds themselves with a steal of a trade, having surrendered their 4th overall pick from the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in Adam Larsson to the struggling, but in bad need of a top-4 defenseman, Edmonton Oilers.

    New Jersey Devils LogoOf course, there’s the fact that Larsson had been sent to the Albany Devils (AHL) a couple of seasons ago for a conditioning stint, but that should be no distraction as to the lack of exponential growth that was expected from the 4th overall pick in 2011 that’s now expected to likely play top-2 minutes in Edmonton with a depleted blue line, unless the Oilers have more tricks up their sleeves.

    Hall is a 24-year-old left winger who’s $6.000 million AAV contract runs out at the end of the 2019-2020 season. In his six years with the Oilers he had 132-196-328 totals in 381 career NHL games. Hall led Edmonton in scoring in three of the last four seasons. He had 26 goals, 39 assists and 65 points in 82 games this season.

    Larsson is a 23-year-old defenseman who has played in 274 regular season games with the Devils. His $4.167 million AAV contract expires after the 2020-2021 season and he has recorded 69 points in his career (9 goals, 60 assists). Larsson’s made five appearances in the postseason and scored one goal in that span.

    It took Peter Chiarelli nine days to find a job after the Bruins fired him on April 15, 2015. It took him one star player involving trade to make Oilers fans feel just as Bruins fans did on July 4th, 2013 (when Boston traded Seguin under Chiarelli’s reigns).

  • Dallas Bounces Back to take Game 4

    The Dallas Stars beat the Minnesota Wild in game 4 of the playoffs. The special teams were the story of the night as Dallas went 2/2 on the powerplay and Minnesota went 0/2. Antti Niemi got his first start of the playoffs and had a strong night stopping 28 out of 30 shots. Jason Spezza had the game winning goal on the night and also picked up an assist in the game as well. Jason Pominville found the net in a losing effort, he now has 3 goals in the past 2 games. Unknown-2

    The first period saw Minnesota trying to capitalize on the momentum from Game 3. They got an early power play chance that didn’t lead to anything Antti Niemi couldn’t turn aside. It was a typical playoff game, as the physical play was very apparent. The period finished goalless with Dallas having a slight advantage on shots 10-9.  

    The 2nd period saw Minnesota break the scoreless game when Jason Pominville scored his 3rd of the playoffs off a rebound. Nino Niederreiter and Erik Haula picked up assists on the goal. Ales Hemsky was able to draw the Stars level on the power play. Hemksy hammered a slap shot by Dubnyk to score his first playoff goal since 2006, and Jason Demers and Kris Russell picked up the assist on the power play goal. The game didn’t stay level for long as Charlie Coyle scored on a breakaway a minute later. Niemi was in a bad positon on this goal and Coyle found the empty net on the backhand.  

    Dallas had another answer on the power play when Patrick Eaves picked up his second of the playoffs off a Kris Russell shot. Russell and Jason Spezza registered the assists on the goal and this seemed to spark Spezza. With a minute left in the period, Spezza deflected the puck off his skate by Dubnyk for the Stars’ first lead of the game. Jason Demers picked up his second assist of the night, with Jamie Benn picking up the other assist for his first point of the night.    CJhyiLmK

    The 3rd period saw Minnesota trying to level the game on an all-out attack. Dallas had changed their game plan as well as they were just trying to get the puck deep in the offensive zone to kill time. Minnesota was pushing hard for the goal to bring them level and like usual they began double shifting Ryan Suter in hope he could spark the team. As the game went on eventually Minnesota had no choice but to pull Dubnyk for the extra attacker. To make matters worse for the Stars, Antonie Roussel took a 4 minute minor for high sticking. Dallas was luckily able to see of the final minute and half with a 6-4 situation. Thus giving Dallas a 3-1 lead in the series.

    The next game will be Friday at 9:30 back in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center. Dallas has the chance to finish the series on home ice.

  • Pominville leads the State of Hockey in game 3

    The Minnesota Wild defeated the Dallas Stars 5-3 on home ice. The series is now 2-1 in favor of Dallas. Jason Pominville had 2 goals and an assist. Patrick Sharp also had a 2 goal night in a losing effort. Devan Dubnyk earned his first win of the playoffs, stopping 14 of 17. Minnesota’s star players finally showed up in this game helping the team take Game 3. Unknown-2

    Dallas and Patrick Sharp had a great start to the game as Sharp tipped in Alex Goligoski’s shot from the point just 26 seconds into the game. Patrick Sharp continue his strong start with another goal four minutes later. Cody Eakin and Jamie Benn picked up assists on Sharp’s second goal. Devan Dubnyk had a rough start giving up two goal on three shots. Minnesota was going to be shutout in the first before Chris Porter got his first of the playoffs with Erik Haula and Jonas Brodin picking up assists.

    The 2nd period was a much better period for Minnesota and their fans. Just 6 minutes into the period, Erik Haula scored his first of the playoffs with Jason Pominville and Nino Niederreiter picking up the helpers. Teams continued exchanging chances but both Devan Dubnyk and Kari Lehtonen were up to the task. The Wild struck late again as Pominville was able to squeeze the rebound by Lehtonen to give the Wild their first lead of the game. The Building was really rocking as the Wild had their first lead in the series. The Wild outshot Dallas in the period 8-4, giving them an 18-10 lead on the game.

    The 3rd period started in Minnesota favor as Jordie Benn took a holding penalty just five minutes into the period. On that power play, the Wild were able to double their lead as Mikko Koivu got his first of the playoffs and Dallas was in a 4-2 hole. This only lasted about six minutes as Jason Demers’ shot deflected off Colton Sceviour to bring the game within one. Minnesota went into their defensive shell and was able to keep Dallas out. CJhyiLmK

    Around a minute left in the game the Stars pulled Lehtonen for the extra attacker. It only took a few minutes before Jason Pominville scored his second of the night from mid-ice into the empty net. Shots told a lot about this game as Dallas averaged 32 shots per game during the regular season, but tonight they finished with 17. This just shows how strong the Wild’s defense was tonight as they were able to slow a high caliber offense.