Nino Niederreiter Hat Trick Lifts Wild Past Sabres, 6-3

The Minnesota Wild snapped a 4-game losing streak thanks to a Nino Niederreiter hat trick that helped the Wild topple the Buffalo Sabres, 6-3.

Maybe it’s too early to start planning the Stanley Cup Parade, but I liked what I saw from the Wild tonight. Sure, it was against the sub-par Buffalo Sabres, but the Wild needed to win and break their slump and they did just that. Although Niederreiter (my favorite player) earned much of the glitz and glam, the 4th line deserves a ton of the credit, as does a wacky first frame. Before we get to my notes, be sure and check the link for Tyler’s pre-game and take a closer look at the lines fielded by the Wild.

First Period:

Was anybody else nervous when Bufflao scored with their first shot on goal? Me too. The Wild, who had not led a game since the Sharks came to town looked to be at it again. Rasmus Ristolainen’s point shot beat Darcy Kuemper on to the blue paint. As Kuemper scrambled for the puck, either Matt Moulson or Kuemper himself swept it in to the net. 1-0 Sabres at 1:03 of the first. I think there was a bit of a defensive breakdown by the Wild in the midst of a change as the speedy Zemgus Girgensons beat an icing and set up the play.

Thank goodness it didn’t take the Wild long to respond. Ryan Carter, playing alongside Justin Fontaine and Kyle Brodziak on the so-called fourth line deflected a shot past Jhonas Enroth. The goal was waved off by the linesman who felt is was put in to the net off Carter’s hand; however, after a review by the NHL, it was clear Carter used his stick in a distinct cross-checking motion and it was declared a good goal. 1-1 tie at 06:07 of the first. Take a look.

By the way, Ryan Carter is now responsible for two consecutive goals by the Wild, with both being scored in an odd fashion. If I had asked any of you who you thought would score two consecutive goals for the Wild, none of you would have picked Ryan Carter.

Seven seconds later, the Wild took the lead. Directly off the face-off, Niederreiter picked up the puck from Granlund and broke in to the offensive zone with Charlie Coyle. Coyle fed Niederreiter at the front of the net and Nino put a nifty little backhander over Enroth’s leg pad. 2-1 Wild at 6:14 of the first. Coyle earned the lone assist thanks to a nifty pass.

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Not to be outdone, Girgensons tied the game up 10 seconds later. Uncovered through the Neutral zone, Girgensons rifled a shot over the blocker of Kuemper in a hurry. 2-2 tie at 06:24 0f the first. This goal ended Kuemper’s night as giving up two goals on two shots usually earns you some time on the bench. Hopefully he just has the mumps. Niklas Backstrom would come in to relieve.

Earlier, I mentioned how good the 4th line was tonight. They collected their second goal of the night thanks to a Brodziak tip in that came off an odd angle. From just above the goal line, Brodzaik wristed home a Fontaine rebound and gave the Wild the lead. 3-2 Wild at 09:21 of the first.

The Wild had two power play chances in the first period. On the first man advantage, the Wild got some really good chances and looked to have figured out some of their problems but couldn’t quite convert. Their second power play seemed to fare much better.

Mikael Granlund, centering the second power play unit faked a one-timer and opted to pass to an open Niederreiter in the low slot. From there, Nino worked his newfound magic and tipped in the shot that silenced spectators. 4-2 Wild at 17:52. First career two goal night for Nino, who played very well with his new linemates.

Shots after one period: Buffalo Sabres 5, Minnesota Wild 20.

Second Period:

Quiet middle frame as both teams hunkered down. An early power play for the Wild yielded nothing.

Backstrom looked pretty comfortable in net, which is a relief. Backs was pretty active in the second, and I thought his glove game was really strong.

Remember when The Wild’s power play scored two goals against Dallas? That was cool right? Let’s do that again.

After Rasmus Ristolainen took an interference penalty, the Wild went back to work with the man advantage. This time it was the top power play unit that put the puck home as Jared Spurgeon, freshly back from injury jumped up on the power play and took a beautiful pass from Jason Pominville and hammered it home to an empty side of the net. Mikko Koivu, who drew the penalty to send the Wild back to the power play, earned the second assist. 5-2 Wild at 13:50 of the second

Like I said, pretty quiet second period. Niederreiter worked very hard to complete the hat trick, but hit a few posts.

Justin Fontaine took a hooking penalty that served only to boost the statistics of the Wild penalty kill, which was strong again.

Shots through two periods: Buffalo Sabres 20, Minnesota Wild 31

Third Period:

All of the new lines seemed to click tonight. The Thomas Vanek – Erik Haula – Jordan Schroeder line had some good early chances in the third.

Mikael Granlund had a wide open net to shoot at after picking the pocket of Enroth behind the Buffalo net, but missed his shot wide. Niederreiter caught up to the rebound and hit the goal post.

Former Wild center Torrey Mitchell picked up his second of the year to bring the Sabres within a pair in the 12th minute. Picking up a feed from Drew Stafford who was behind Backstrom, Mitchell let go a lightning quick shot that went top shelf on Backstrom. 5-3 Wild at 12:56 of the third.

With just under three minutes left, Buffalo pulled Enroth in favor of an extra forward. A save by Backstrom caromed its way to Ryan Suter who sprung Niederreiter free in the neutral zone. Niederreiter actually gave the puck over to Coyle as they motored towards an empty net, but Coyle did the right thing and gave the puck back to Nino who completed his hat trick bid in to an empty net. 6-3 Wild at 17:32 of the third. Hats rained down on the ice as Nino flashed a massive smile.

Final shots on goal: Buffalo Sabres 28, Minnesota Wild 39.

Trembley’s Take

The Wild needed this win. Sabres or not, the Wild played a good team game for a full 60 minutes. Niederreiter had the best game I’ve seen from him yet with 5 shots, 3 goals and 3 hits.

Speaking of playing a team game, there wasn’t a single Wild player below a 57% even strength Corsi for. That’s pretty impressive.

The fourth line tonight was absolutely unstoppable, with two goals and 4 assists between them. Ryan Carter has been a fantastic edition to this squad. Brodziak seems to be in a renaissance, and Justin Fontaine is playing very well. I can’t say enough about that line.

Personally, I imagine the Niederreiter Granlund Coyle line stays for a bit. They played well together and their strengths compliment each other.

Mathew Dumba had a good game. I expect the Mumps infected blueliners to be out a week or more, so hopefully Dumba’s play continues to be strong.

Wild play an early game in Dallas on Saturday. Talk to you then!