The Minnesota Wild last scored four goals in a game on November 24th. Tonight, against the Montreal Canadiens, they’ve tallied that many goals in the second period alone.
After a first period where only one Montreal shot was from a forward, the Minnesota Wild have lit up Antti Niemi with four goals to stretch their 1-0 first period lead to a 5-0 lead heading into the third.
Nino Niederreiter, Zach Parise and Mikael Granlund are all rocking multi-point nights, with Nino having opened the scoring and assisted on the fifth goal, whilst Parise and Granlund both have two assists each.
Charlie Coyle, Matt Dumba, Eric Staal and Jared Spurgeon have the other four goals for the Minnesota Wild, who have seemingly turned a corner when it comes to scoring.
Maybe it’s the addition of Luke Kunin to the line-up that has spurred them with a bit more verve or maybe the extra couple of days break following their loss to the Edmonton Oilers has made all the difference.
Right now, having faced twnety shots, Devan Dubnyk is looking on course to right his recent wrongs in net, whilst you have to wonder whether the Montreal Canadiens will swap Carey Price in for the third period or not. I’d say it’s unlikely, unless they’re really feeling a mercy pull will help Niemi.
Perhaps most satisfying about the Minnesota Wild’s lead is the way the special teams have performed thus far, with two power-play markers on two power-plays and a short-handed goal added into the mix.
Just as the season was looking a little lost, the Minnesota Wild have stepped up their game and are looking dominant. Granted, it’s against slightly lesser opposition (it’s fair to say the Canadiens aren’t exactly contenders), but they’re dominating them nonetheless.
The only question left now is how many more goals will the team net in the third period?
Will the scoring continue to be shared around and will Dubnyk continue his solid showing too?