Game Recap: Anaheim Ducks Hand Minnesota Wild First Loss of the Season

After controlling play through much of the first two periods, a costly turnover gave the Minnesota Wild their first loss of the season, as the Anaheim Ducks topple the Wild, 2-1 in regulation.

After a 6 day break, the Wild showed very little rust against an Anaheim Ducks squad looking to wow the crowd in their home opener. Despite absolutely incredible play by Darcy Kuemper, defensive breakdowns by a gassed Wild squad in the final 30 minutes cost Minnesota two points in the standings. Facing much stiffer competition, the Wild still performed well. Here are my thoughts on the game.

First Period:

The Wild, with an essentially identical line-up from the previous two games, got off to a quick start, registering the first 2 shots on goal. Sustaining spurts of zone pressure through the first two minutes, Charlie Coyle took a hooking penalty around two minutes in, which the Wild killed, although they allowed a few shots.

Nino Niederreiter had a few close calls offensively, fanning on a shot towards an empty net as Frederik Andersen was tied up on the other side of the crease.

Minnesota was great on the face-off dot, winning five of the first 6 face-offs and Most overall, with only Erik Haula winning less than half for the Wild. Ryan Carter, playing center in place of the scratched Kyle Brodziak, was 71% on the dot.

Second Period:

Mikael Granlund won the opening face-off, but the offensive zone entry failed to click as Jonas Brodin took a huge hit from Ryan Getzlaf, which forced an offsides. The Wild responded with their 3rd line, which did well through the neutral zone to jam up play.
During a shift change as 4th line takes the ice for Minnesota, Erik Haula placed a well-timed check on Clayton Stoner. Carter, Jason Zucker, Matt Cooke, Keith Ballard and Dumba take the ice. Zucker scoops up the puck and catches Stoner snoozing in the neutral zone. From there, Zucker walks in and fires a wrister past Andersen’s glove from an odd angle. 1-0 Wild at 2:08

Lots of back and forth play after this; however, the Anaheim Ducks got several good chances, all stopped by the phenomenal play of keeper Kuemper. I wish the NHL highlights had some of the stops, but alas. Charlie Coyle and Ryan Getzlaf would get in to a scrum beind the net. Getzlaf was clearly the instigator, but Coyle would take a double minor with Getzlaf taking only a single minor. With the Ducks on a 5-on-4 powerplay for two minutes, Minnesota would step-up and prevent any shots from the buzzing ducks.

Ballard, who earned his first point of the new season early in the second, would earn his first penalty of the season at the 12 minute mark. Again, an increasingly aggressive Wild PK shut the door on the Ducks, allowing no shots on goal. I can’t say enough about this PK, which is perfect through the new season.

Devante Smith-Pelly managed to break Kuemper’s beautiful new mask with a hard wrist shot, but Kuemps managed to get it fixed and stayed in to continue his shutout streak. I liked Smith-Pelly’s game tonight, great player.

Minnesota would close out the period in the offensive zone for a bit. This time, Thomas Vanek came remarkably close to a goal and again, it got fanned on. Rust, folks.

Kuemper’s shutout streak now at just under 140 minutes.

More from Gone Puck Wild

Shots After 2: Minnesota Wild: 16, Anaheim Ducks: 17

Third Period:

Anaheim came to play, folks. After winning three of four on the road, the Ducks were not willing to lose their first at home. They looked downright… mighty through the first few minutes. Ryan Suter had a giveaway in the defensive zone that sent the Wild scrambling.

Clayton Stoner would rough up Charlie Coyle, leaving the Ducks shorthanded. With only two shots through the man advantage, the Wild prepared for one last rush. A giveaway by Jason Pominville at the blue line led to a shorthanded bid for the Ducks. Andrew Cogliano scooped up the puck and flew down the left wing. Scooting in front of Kuemper, Cogliano blasted a backhander home over the glove of the young netminder. 1-1 tie at 04:02. Kuemper’s shutout streak is over, but he sets a Wild single season record for longest shutout streak at 163:46. Just insane play by the kid keeper.

Less than a minute later, Kuemper threw his name in the hat for save of the year. After a pad save, Kuemper lunged across the crease and batted away a tip-in bid by Matt Beleskey. Absolutely insane save to keep the Wild in this one.

Vanek came close again once, but a toe save by Andersen kept the game tied. Anaheim was not going to give up. Minnesota had a power play bid killed by the Ducks. Not much to report.

Minnesota, forced in their own zone around the 10:00 mark, made desperate bids to clear the zone, all to no avail. Zucker and Dumba came very close to clearing the zone, starting a breakout just inside the blue line. Sensing trouble, Zucker made a cross ice pass to Dumba. Dumba bobbled the pass and coughed the puck up to Corey Perry. The prolific goal scorer capitalized on the chance, firing once, recovering the rebound and blasting it home past a scrambling Kuemper. 2-1 Ducks at 11:35.

So. Minnesota Has 8 minutes to recover. There were a few chances by the Wild, but nothing close. Minnesota’s chances to pull the goaltender starting about 17:00 minutes in were repeatedly foiled until just under a minute left. I think Kuemper probably got tired flying back and forth to the bench. Although the Minnesota Wild would prevent any empty-net goals, it was all to no effect. Andersen played well. Game over. Anaheim Ducks win, 2-1.

After the final horn, Ryan Kesler absolutely steamrolled Mikael Granlund in to the boards. Granlund was uninjured, but it was a silly hit after the game had ended. Zach Parise decided intervene and took a cross-checking major to go with a game misconduct. Kesler took a major for charging. Doesn’t matter, game was over. More on that hit below

Final Shots: Minnesota Wild: 28, Anaheim Ducks: 26.

Trembley’s Take:

Despite the loss, I think the Wild looked great. The Ducks are an incredible team, and Andersen stood on his head. Vanek has to be due for a goal soon, or we’re gonna hear about it from Habs fans.

Kuemper had absolutely no chance on the goal by Perry, and I think Dumba is gonna sit in the press box for a bit because of it. Beyond that, I’m positive he’s seated himself as the #1 goalie for the forseeable future. I really enjoyed this game. It was a lot closer than either of the Avalanche games and seemed like a real test for the Wild.

Now, on to the Kesler hit. Despite being absolutely unnecessary, I think the Kesler hit has been a little blown out of proportion. Yes, unnecessary and probably a little too dirty for my taste, but Granlund is fine. He had his head up, was in possession of the puck, and Kesler essentially coasted through the last few feet of his hit. I didn’t like it. No place for it in hockey and it was certainly an illegal hit, but it was not nearly as bad as some of the others we’ve seen. Kesler will not face supplemental discipline.

Minnesota takes on LA in a matinée game on Sunday. I think Backstrom gets the nod so he doesn’t rust out worse than a Ford Pinto.

Talk to you Sunday, Wild fans!