In at season full of breaking tradition first by winning in Edmonton then Shutting out the San Jose Sharks, the Wild were looking to get a win in Nationwide arena. In the last 21 meetings there Minnesota has only put up 4 wins.
Coming into tonight’s game Columbus was 8-4-0 and have a 2.42 average in both GAA and GG. They are converting 12.5% of the time putting them at 25th in the league on the Power play and are 18th in the league with an 84.9 PK percentage. Columbus shines on the faceoffs winning 54.4% of them and 3rd in the league.
The Wild just finished a 5 game home stand where they were 3-1-1. On the season the Wild are 6-4-2, have a 2.42 GG average while only giving up 2.17 goals per game. Though their power play numbers keep slipping they are still 3rd best in the league at 25.4% and killing 85.5% of their penalties. The Wild have not given up a PP goal to the Blue Jackets in their last 11 meetings.
Jose Theodore was my key to this game for the Wild starting his 2nd game for the team. In his last start he faced an aggressive Vancouver team who put up 5 goals on him. Although giving up 5 goals he played pretty well seeing he didn’t get any help from his teammates.
The first period ended with the score being tied 1-1, goals coming from Brent Burns (4) assisted by Matt Cullen (9) and Rick Nash got a sick pass from Brassard to tie it up. Brent Burns scored his goal on the power play from a goalie interference call on the Jackets.
Matt Kassian seems to be looking to make a name for himself in the league, this is the second game where he has come out wanting to fight and got his wish against Jared Boll. Though he will never match or take the place of a Derek Boogaard this team doesn’t have a ton of star power and will need the physical play from lesser named players to be successful.
In the second period the Jackets came out like they wanted to blow the Wild away. Scoring his 4th goal of the season Kyle Wilson put the Jackets up 2-1 but the Wild PP was again able to come through when Brent Burns scored his 2nd of the game and 5th of the season, assists by Koivu (10) and Havlat (8). With his 2nd goal of the game it was Brent’s first game with 2 goals and gives Mikko a point in 11 out of the 13 games played.
Brent Burns will need to continue to be a solid factor for the Wild. He shut down Ovechkin then put up another good night shutting down the top scoring line of the Sharks. His play on defense and offense has been exactly what this Wild team needs and what has made him a fan favorite.
Coming into the 3rd period everyone could feel the next goal of the game would be a big one. Cullen had a great chance but was hauled down by Antoine Vermette giving the Wild another great chance on the PP but unable to capitalize. Clutterbuck was called for a boarding call halfway through the 3rd and the Wild PK was able to come through yet again. Like I said earlier the Wild have never given up a PP goal to the Jackets in 11 games.
Cal Clutterbuck was able to put the Wild up 3-2 with a big goal after what I thought was a close boarding call. Eric Nystrom got his first point of the season on the assist and Captain Koivu his second of the game and 11th of the season.
Pulling off the Win the Wild are 4-1-1 in their last six games and Jose Theodore got his first win as a member of the Wild stopping 35 shots! Cal ClutterBuck had the Game winning goal while the Wild continue to exorcise demons of the past by beating the Jackets on their home ice. Martin Havlat has a 3 game point streak after his assist in the 2nd period while Andrew Brunettes comes to an end at 4 games.
The Wild only committed 4 penalties (5 if you count the fight) and killed them all, scored twice on the power play, and were outshot 37-24. With this win the Wild are now tied with Vancouver for the lead in the division with 16 points but Vancouver has yet to play. With almost a full week off the Wild don’t play till Thursday in Atlanta.
This team has shown fans and critics that they could be a contending team this year by playing solid defense and getting great play out of their 2 goalies. They still need to keep up the physical play throughout the game and rely on their top players to get on the board to continue this streak but I don’t think it is just a fluke. When on their game this is a top team in the West and the only thing that has beaten them in the past has been themselves. Game by game I am becoming more convinced that Todd Richards can get it done with the players he has and the team is stepping up in big game situations. I have said it before but every game for the Wild is BIG if they want to reach the post season this year and can not let up one bit.
Thanks for reading, like always I'm looking for advice on how to make this better so I would really like the feed back. Follow me on Twitter @Josh_Sargent.
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