Game Recap: Wild beat Blues in Overtime Thriller
98. 4. 99. Final. 5
The Wild shuffled their line up late, leaving us all scrambling. Despite scratching some stars, the Minnesota Wild would go on to beat the St. Louis Blues in an overtime thriller.
Let’s start with the lines. Announcing a traditional roster earlier in the evening, the Wild made some last-minute adjustments that left more questions than answers.
Sep 27, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba (55) skates with the puck in the second period against the Winnipeg Jets at Xcel Energy Center. The Minnesota Wild win 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Forward Lines:
Thomas Vanek – Mikko Koivu – Matt Cooke
Zach Parise – Mikael Granlund – Jason Pominville
Kyle Brodziak – Erik Haula – Nino Niederreiter
Stephane Veilleux – Cody Almond – Joel Rechlicz
Defensive pairings (to start)
Marco Scandella – Jonas Brodin
Keith Ballard – Christian Folin
Charlie Coyle, who had been practicing at center this morning was scratched late. Jason Zucker was also scratched. Kurtis Gabriel was recalled just before the game, but did not play. Seems odd to prepare for a scenario and change it upless than an hour before game time, but I’m no coach. Anyhow, on to the game. An overtime thriller that left a good feeling in the crowd.
First Period thoughts:
Not much to say here, Parise took a slashing penalty about two minutes in, but the Wild killed that off without much trouble. Have I mentioned how much I like the Penalty Kill unit? Niederreiter registered the Wild’s first shot on goal, but it took until 4:26 for that to materialize. The Wild got their first chance on the power play at 4:39 as Chris Porter hooked Marco Scandella. Not much materialized, save for a Dumba giveaway that turned in to a brief shorthanded bid for the Blues. Maxim Lapierre registered the shorthanded shot on goal, the only shot during the power play.
The game felt like a foot race through much of the first, but there were some great hits by the Wild to slow down the Blues. Cody Almond, who otherwise had a fantastic game, hooked Chris Porter late in the first (17:55) and the Blues got one short look before another effective shift by the Wild PK. For the first time this pre-season, the Wild managed to out shoot the pesky Blues.
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Shots After One: Blues 6, Wild 8
Second Period Thoughts:
It didn’t take long for both teams to wake up in the second frame. Scandella registered the first shot for the Wild 00:16 in from the goal mouth, and it seemed Brian Elliott had a little trouble with the rebound, but successfully froze the puck. On the following faceoff; Jori Lehtera, who is trying to make his way on to the Blues roster, beat Mikael Granlund and buzzed in to the offensive zone. Fellow prospect Petteri Lindbohm camped out at the point and set up Lehtera who simply tipped his shot past Kuemper. 1-0 Blues at 00:53.
Just 30 seconds later, Chris Butler tripped up Kyle Brodziak in the Minnesota offensive end, sending the Wild to their second power play. Fielding a power play unit of Granlund, Pominville, Parise, Brodin, and Dumba, it took a minute for the Wild to set up and hold pressure in the offensive zone. Dumba had a shot blocked from near the paint, recovered and passed to Parise who was near the left face-off circle. Despite having a clean look at the net, Parise laid a perfect pass to Granlund at the base of the right face-off circle, and Granlund ripped it past Elliott who was still facing Parise. Tied 1-1 with the Granlund power play goal at 3:05.
The Wild would clog up the neutral zone in the following minutes, preventing a shot from the Blues after the power play. Christian Folin would execute a beautiful hit on Jaden Schwartz to free up the puck and send the Wild back on the offensive and get fresh feet on the ice. After a line change, the Wild set up in the offensive zone. When the puck made its way to Bickel at the point, he ripped a heavy shot toward Elliott which was re-directed past the blues netminder by Erik Haula. 2-1 Wild at 4:55. Before the goal horn could sound, we got our first reminder of the game earlier this week, as Veilleux and Blues winger Cody Beach dropped the gloves. There were no punches thrown, but both took a 5 minute major for fighting.
Dumba would have a few great shots in the following minutes, but not much materialized.A back and forth game would continue until the 12th minute of the frame. Peterri Lindbohm would fake a shot from the face-off circle and pass to a wide open Ryan Reaves who tapped home a shot past Kuemper, who was still hooked on Lindbohm’s initial shot. Tied 2-2 at 12:42.
Cody Beach would take a penalty for elbowing Christian Folin a minute later, but an effective PK by the Blues would allow only one shot on goal.
Jori Lehtera would tally his second of the night to put the Blues up 3-2 at 16:37. Jaden Schwartz would pick up his second assist of the night. Ryan Reaves would take a penalty for running down Darcy Kuemper, sending the Wild Back to the man advantage.
With the Wild’s top power play unit on the ice, Thomas Vanek would capitalize on the opportunity to tie the game. Jason Pominville fired a wrister from an odd angle that landed right in front of Vanek, who potted home the loose puck. 3-3 tie at 18:39
Shots After Two: Blues 15, Wild 20
Third Period Thoughts:
Heading to the ice tied at 3 a side, the Wild would dominate play through the first half of the third, but not without casualties. Registering 4 shots on goal and a power play through the first 8 eight minutes, the Wild seemed to be buzzing. At 08:31, Chris Porter would take a minor for Veilleux. Kyle Brodziak and Steve Ott would each draw a misconduct in the neutral zone for a scrum following the boarding.
It took 12:21 for the Blues to register their first shot on goal in the third
It took 12:21 for the Blues to register their first shot on goal in the third. Solid play by the Wild.
12:44 in, we got a taste of Mathew Dumba’s insane slapshot that beat Elliott just under the bar from the point.
Unfortunately, Nino Niederreiter would take an untimely double minor for boarding and slashing, sending the Blues to the man advantage. The Blues would quickly tie up the game when Ian Cole tucked a wrist shot past Kuemper. Lehtera registered his 3rd point with an assist.
With a flat response from both sides of the ice, We’re headed to overtime.
Shots on goal through regulation: Blues 20, Wild 30
Overtime Thoughts:
What a great OT period. With not a single stoppage of play, The Wild entered the final minute of OT with 2 shots on goal, matching the Blues. With only 32 seconds to go before the dreaded shootout (Oh how I’ll miss you, spin-o-rama) Koivu and Pominville cruised in to the zone for one last rush. Pominville dropped a pass to Koivu cruising down the slot. Koivu’s Wrister beat Elliott at 04:28. That meets my definition of Overtime Thriller. Game over. Wild win 5-4.
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Trembley’s Take:
Great game for the Wild, who finish the pre-season 3-2-1, 3-0-0 at home. Kuemper had a rough game, allowing 4 goals on 20 shots through regulation. I really liked Dumba tonight, especially his slap shot. I still don’t quite understand the line up changes, but it worked.
The Wild have some very tough choices ahead of the regular season opener on October 9th. I think Dumba is an absolute lock to make the roster and will probably find time on the second power play unit. Now for the stars.
My Wild Three Stars:
1st star Mathew Dumba: 1 goal, 1 assist and 3 shots for the young blueliner. Combine this with 6:33 of power play time and 23:28 total time on ice, and Dumba gets star #1 from me. Like I said, I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make the opening night roster, he’s earned it.
2nd star: Mikko Koivu: Koivu’s back, folks. His game winner was the icing on the cake of a great two-way game for the captain.
3rd star: Jason Pominville: 3 assists for the 30-year old Pominville who also had a takeaway and 2 shots in just under 20 minutes of ice time.
Who was your Wild star? Let us Know in the comments below! Don’t forget to subscribe for the latest from Gone Puck Wild.