Early Jump Helps Wild Beat the Canadiens, 2-1

A pair of odd goals in the first two periods as well as great play by a rejuvenated Darcy Kuemper helped the Minnesota Wild exact their revenge on the visiting Montreal Canadiens.

Good evening, Wild fans. In front of a ravenous home crowd that included NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, the Wild attacked the Canadiens early, posting two unanswered goals in the first 40 minutes. One of the biggest questions entering this game was whether or not the Wild could solve Habs goaltender Carey Price. The Wild did, although neither goal was orthodox.

Ryan Suter missed his first game as a member of the Minnesota Wild due to an unspecified illness. Christian Folin played admirably in his place.

Darcy Kuemper was on top of his game, stopping 19 0f 20. Before we get to my notes, don’t forget to check out Tyler’s game preview. As usual, his pre-game predictions were spot on. I’m going to ask him for the lottery numbers.

In yet another display of unity, the Wild took the time to honor Jean Belvieau, the Canadiens legend who passed away earlier this week. There’s a sense of family in the NHL, and that’s pretty cool.

First Period:

It only took 19 seconds for the Wild to get on the board, thanks to some creativity by Jason Zucker. Directly off the face-off circle, Zucker motored to just below the goal like on Price’s strong side and fired a wrist shot that bounced off the goal pipe and Carey Price’s shoulder before dribbling in to the net. 1-0 Wild at 00:19 of the first period.

I believe that’s the fastest the Wild have scored to open a game this season. It’s also just a few seconds off of

Justin Fontaine’s

club record for fastest goal to start a game at 12 seconds. Zucker’s goal certainly wasn’t orthodox, but it’s only weird if it doesn’t work, right?

Mikko Koivu

earned the single assist. Koivu and Zucker are good for each other.

Kyle Brodziak took a holding penalty in the first that the Habs failed to convert on before Jiri Sekac took an interference penalty that sent the game to 4-on-4 for a minute and a half. I’m still quite underwhelmed with the 4-on-4 play and the 30 seconds of power play fared no better.

The Zach Parise – Mikael Granlund – Jason Pominville line was red hot again tonight, building quite a bit of tenacity.

Andrei Markov had the best chance for the Habs in the first. Kuemper blocked a Dale Weise shot and the rebound found his way directly to Markov. Luckily, a hustling Justin Fontaine disrupted the play before Markov could ever get a shot away.

Shots after one period: Montreal Canadiens 6, Minnesota Wild 16

Second Period:

Marco Scandella, who spent most of the night on the ice with the Granlund line, had some great chances including a blast from the point early in the second. Price could only use his blocker to stop the rising shot didn’t get the chance to settle it down before Parise nearly stuffed home the rebound.

Parise also stole a clearing attempt directly from Price, who was out of the crease. Parise couldn’t settle the puck down in time to bury the empty net shot.

Alexei Emelin sent the Wild to their second power play of the night. Quite frankly, that’s the most there is to say on this power play. Charlie Coyle had two shots and Pominville added another, but none of them were genuine scoring chances.

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Just past the midway mark, a controversial goal by Jason Pominville proved to be the game winner. Christian Folin’s wrist shot from the blue line whistled past both Pominville and P.K. Subban who were battling at the front of the net. Pominville clearly attempted to duck out of the way for the shot. In doing so, his stick deflected the puck in to the net. The on-ice official signaled good goal, but a booth review was initiated as the officials were unsure if the puck hit Pominville’s stick above the crossbar. No conclusive evidence could be found to determine if the puck was played with a high stick, so the goal stood. Here’s the long video, courtesy of the NHL website. 2-0 Wild at 12:10 of the second period.

Folin, who’s had a lot of success in a brief stint with the AHL Wild, has a pretty nice wrist shot. More on that later.

The Wild had two more power plays in the second period including nearly a minute of 5-on-3. Despite being up 2-0, the crowd turned on the Wild’s poor power play. Honestly, it was a let down to hear the boos rain down on the ice. More on that later.

Shots through two periods: Montreal Canadiens 10, Minnesota Wild 30

Third Period:

The Canadiens made a game of this in the third period, despite being outshot by a 3 to 1 margin through the first 40 minutes.

Several good chances were undone for the Habs as Eric Tangradi took a Major penalty and a game misconduct for boarding Christian Folin. The Canadiens managed to hold the Wild without a shot on goal, much to the dismay of the crowd. Despite line shuffling and extra practice days, the Wild were unable to convert with five minutes to wear out the visiting Habs.

With 2 minutes left, Carey Price was off to the bench and the Canadiens held constant zone pressure until they put their first and only shot past Kuemper. Alex Galchenyuk earned his 6th of the year burying home a David Desharnais rebound. 2-1 Wild at 19:01 of the third period. 

Luckily, Kuemper and the defense stood tall, preventing the tying score. Game over, Wild beat the Canadiens 2-1 in regulation.

Final shots on goal: Montreal Canadiens 19, Minnesota Wild 35.

Trembley’s Take:

Christian Folin played a great game. He seems to have quickly gained his confidence with the Iowa Wild, posting 2 goals and 2 assists in 8 games before being recalled. I think his shot would have gone in whether Pominville deflected it or not. Tonight, he was a +2 with 16:31 of ice time

Scandella had a really good game as well, with 25:07. He also had a Corsi for of 58%

Pominville ended a goal scoring drought that went back to the Canadiens game on November 8th. I think he might fall short of 30 goals this season.

I understand the frustration with the power play folks, I get it. We can’t solve it by booing. The players are as dejected as we are and they deserve our support. Let’s try that.