Game Recap: Wild Power Play Terrific, Wild Beat Jets 4-3
The Minnesota Wild Power Play looked great at the Xcel tonight, scoring 3 goals in victory over Jets
The Minnesota Wild managed zero even strength goals, but it didn’t matter. The Wild power play, which had been a point of contention through last season, converted on three of its four attempts. I’m not sure what assistant coach Andrew Brunette is doing in St. Paul, but it’s working. Aggressive, shoot first play with the man advantage was fun to watch and paid dividends. Erik Haula added a penalty shot and that’s all the Wild needed, toppling the Winnipeg Jets 4-3.
First Period Thoughts:
Despite winning the first three face-offs and controlling much of the early play, the Minnesota Wild only registered one shot on goal through the first four minutes. Winnipeg Jets prospect Nicolas Petan opened the scoring for the Jets, with a snap shot from the base of the face-off circle 04:39 in to the 1st. Jets veteran Toby Enstrom and prospect Nikolaj Ehlers earned the assist. 1-0 Jets
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Brad Meier, the referee who’s name draws groans from Wild fans, had some odd calls throughout the first. For instance, Midway through the first, Mathew Dumba made a great open ice hit on Jets winger Carl Klingberg. When J.C. Lipon took exception and roughed Dumba, Matt Cooke stepped in to defend. Following a scuffle, Cooke took a roughing penalty and Lipon was spared. Luckily the Jets were unable to convert, but it certainly was an odd call.
The Wild power play, taking to the ice after
took a holding minor against
, converted on their first attempt with the man advantage. The top power play unit for the game consisted of
,
, and
up front with
and
on the points. Managing 3 shots on goal as well as two shots blocked by Winnipeg, Granlund converted on the 4th shot. Granlund set up his own goal, giving the puck off to Koivu at the side of the net. Koivu made a beautiful pass through traffic to Pominville at the face-off circle. From there, Granlund got the puck back and blasted it home from the slot 14:23 in. 1-1 Wild.
Less than a minute later, Erik Haula earned his first career penalty shot. Haula, who had rockets strapped to his feet all game, was tripped up by Ehlers on a breakaway attempt. The ensuing penalty shot was all a fan could ask for. Haula made a straight line for Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec, put on the brakes, and beat Pavelec just below his blocker with a wrister. 2-1 Wild at 14:56. First career penalty shot goal for the Finnesotan.
Just one minute later, Jets captain Andrew Ladd took two minor penalties, serving one himself and one being served by J.C. Lipon. Pominville also took a concurrent roughing minor, sending the Wild to a 2 minute power play. Despite another 3 shots, they would not convert on their second attempt.
Kyle Brodziak would go to the bin at 18:20 of the opening frame, allowing the Jets to open the second with :40 seconds of power play time.
Shots on goal: Wild: 10 (7 on the power play) Jets: 5 (4 on the power play)
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Second Period Thoughts:
Opening the middle frame on the power play, the Jets came out looking to even things up. With just one shot on goal during the power play, the Jets controlled the zone, until Matt Halischuk deflected a rebound past Niklas Backstrom directly after a Jets face-off win in their offensive zone. It was a fluke of a goal, but a goal nonetheless, tying the game 2-2 just 01:25 in to the 2nd period.
Through the next 8 minutes, Dumba and Keranen stood out, with Dumba getting a few shots off. Keranen had a few good hits and looked flashy through the offensive zone.
The Wild earned their 3rd power play after Zach Bogosian got caught tripping Koivu 8 minutes in. With the second power play unit of the night, Nino Niederreiter scored on a tip in on Pavelec’s glove side. Dumba and Keranen earned the assists. With that goal coming 09:54 in, the Wild go up 3-2.
The Jets were unable to convert on a late second period power play, registering zero shots on goal and headed to the locker room down by one.
Shots through 2 periods: Wild 15, Jets 14.
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Third Period Thoughts:
As you may recall, the Wild went 4-1-0 against the Jets last season, winning each game by only one goal. This is a great rivalry that leaves fans satisfied, win or loss.
Grant Clitsome tied things up for the Jets just 00:40 in, redirecting Blake Wheeler‘s point shot. 3-3 tie after a bit of a defensive breakdown in front of an otherwise solid Backstrom.
The final frame was somewhat sloppy for the Wild, who registered two icings in under a minute followed shortly after by an offside stoppage. After several minutes of back and forth play, the Wild would be granted their 4th and final power play, thanks to Ben Chiarot hooking Justin Fontaine. As time dwindled down in the Wild power play, Jared Spurgeon scored on an easy wrist shot from the high slot. Keranen earned his second assist of the night with Niederreiter tallying a helper as well.
Final Shots: Wild 24, Jets 17.
Trembley’s Take:
What a fun game to watch. The Wild have been accused of “boring hockey” in the past, although fans would disagree. I thought Michael Keranen looked great and Dumba seems to have grown leaps and bounds from the glimpse we saw last season. Thanks to their sparks on the second line, the Wild power play looked… wild.
As much as I hate the phrase “mid-season form,” Backstrom looked to be there. Defensive breakdowns certainly aren’t his fault, but he looked good and moved across the ice well.
I also really liked Nikolaj Ehlers for the Jets. Winnipeg’s first round draft pick (9th overall) in the 2014 entry draft looked simply explosive at times. He’s a little under sized at 5′ 11″ and 176 pounds, but the 18-year-old Denmark native looks to be on the fast track for the NHL. He finished the game with 1 assist and 3 shots in 18:08 of ice time for a +1 rating. He took a silly penalty that led to Haula’s penalty shot, but the video makes it seem like he fell trying to sweep the puck. For now, I’d imagine he returns to the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL where last season he posted 104 points (49G-55A) in 63 regular season games.
My Wild Three Stars:
1st star: Michael Keranen: Keranen should be getting some close looks come Monday. With two assists on the second power play unit as well as 3 hits, the rookie looked really sharp.
2nd star: Mathew Dumba: Also the NHL’s 2nd star (great minds think alike) Dumba outplayed his expectations. If the season started tomorrow, I can’t help but think he starts in St. Paul with time on the power play and 3rd pairing.
3rd star: Jared Spurgeon: Congrats to the wild Spurgeon for earning the NHL’s 1st star. His game winning goal came off his only shot. Add in an impressive 37:13 of ice time, 2 hits, and one blocked shot and you get a great outing by Spurgeon.
The Wild take on Pittsburgh Monday at 7:00 p.m. Central. I’ll be live at the Xcel for that game, so give me a follow on twitter for updates from the lower bowl.
Who was your Wild star? Let us know in the comments below! Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest Wild spins.