Wild Nation In-Game Commentary: Columbus comes to town
Well, it’s officially here. I’m coming to you live from Burnsville tonight, and it might not be hyperbole to say that this game is one of the most anticipated games in the team’s history so far. If you read my predictions at Hockey Primetime, you know that I’ve got the Wild pegged to slide into the playoffs in the eighth spot, so it’s time to see if I was right.
The puck is dropping soon, and the face off is coming up in just a few short minutes.
1st Period
20:00 – And it’s official. The season is underway. Your Minnesota Wild are starting with Koivu, Setoguchi and Heatley up front, Schultz and Scandella are on the blueline and Backstrom is in nets.
19:11 – Backstrom turns away his first save of the game right before a Columbus player goes barreling into the net, knocking it off the moorings. His counterpart, tonight, is Steve Mason (who played last night in Nashville).
18:50 – Goal Minnesota! The Wild get a great chance in transition, as Latendresse makes a beautiful stretch pass to Bouchard, who got in behind a backchecking Sami Pahlsson and flipped the puck over Mason’s shoulder with a beautiful wrister to make it 1-0 for the Wild.
18:20 – And Brett Bulmer is on the ice for his first NHL shift.
17:41 – Heatley shows some beautiful hands in traffic, swerving through about 15 Columbus defenders (okay, maybe not quite that many) before fighting through a check and getting a shot on net. This, folks, is why you should be excited about having him on the Wild’s squad. Dude is an offensive genius!
16:36 – We have our first power play of the game, and it’s going to Columbus. Rick Nash drove down the middle and drew a holding penalty on Nick Schultz, who’s now feeling great shame.
15:22 – So far, the Wild’s new defensive system is just as advertised. They’re keeping the puck out of the middle and forcing the offense to the outside and making things really easy for their goaltender.
15:12 – I believe the saying would be “Holy Mackinaw,” as Koivu JUST missed making the score 2-0, as Heatley fired a shot on net, leaving a rebound right on the doorstep for Koivu, who just fanned on it. Something tells me he’s swearing at his stick on the bench right now.
12:57 – The Wild take an icing, but have really been controlling the play so far. Not that they’ve got it in the bag, but they’re doing a great job at possessing the puck.
12:08 – Steve Mason had to come up big for the Jackets, as Dany Heatley got set up by Setoguchi for a one-timer right between the circles and did his best to try to split the puck in two. Mason got over and was able to control the rebound, but another good chance for the Wild.
10:49 – Clutterbuck stepped up and JUST missed a huge open ice check on a Columbus d-man. Something tells me that might have been a good thing, though, as it likely would have been a hit that the Shana-hammer would have had to look at.
9:24 – Good chance for the Jackets, as Derek Dorsett stripped the puck from Powe and circled around the net for a good wraparound opportunity. Backstrom was right there, though, and he shut the door on Dorsett before five other Wild players let him know what they thought about him standing next to their goalie.
9:20 – Holy buckets, Devin Setoguchi is fast. That is all.
8:57 – Koivu’s stick got caught up in the skates of Rick Nash and the Wild’s captain is going to be heading for tripping.
8:27 – I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this or not, but the numbers on the front of the helmets? Yeah…They’re ugly.
7:05 – Good chance by the Jackets, as Nash fired the puck through traffic, but Backstrom makes the save behind a big Vinny Prospal, as the Wild are still keeping the puck to the outside.
5:46 – Mason gloves a fairy innocuous shot by Clayton Stoner for a face off, but the Wild are really pressuring now, doing a great job of controlling the play.
5:14 – This line of Dorsett, Pahlsson and Mayorov has been over of Columbus’ best lines tonight, as they get another decent shot at a wraparound. Unfortunately, Mayorov got called for interference and put Columbus a man down.
4:22 – No shots yet on the power play, but Columbus is giving Minnesota all sorts of time out there to set up their power play.
3:40 – Powerplay goal by Marco Scandella! Backstrom left the puck behind the net for Jared Spurgeon, he feathered the puck up to Scandella who then flipped it past Mason for his first career NHL goal. 2-0 Minnesota.
3:00 – It must be something with the number 19, because Brett Bulmer just took a run at a Blue Jacket and did his best Stephane Veilleux impression by checking his reflection.
1:47 – Clayton Stoner stepped up and put a shoulder into Derek Dorsett, you know, just to get his attention. I think it might have worked, as Doresett spun off the check and looked around wondering what the heck happened.
29.1 – Powe takes a sharp angle shot, but he forced Mason to make the save as players were crashing the net, so yeah…A good shot.
12.2 – The Jackets seemed to think that they needed two players to lay on Bouchard to keep him down, but it opened up a great scoring opportunity for Guillame Latendresse, who made Mason make a big save.
00.0 – Period one is in the books and the Wild lead 2-0. They played a solid period, keeping the action to the outside and getting good looks on net. We all know, though, that the big test is going to be whether or not they can keep that up through the second period.
2nd Period
20:00 – We’re underway here in the second, and this is going to be the big test for the Wild. Can they avoid the dreaded 2nd period lull that they typically go into? Let’s find out!
19:04 – R.J. Umberger JUST misses the net as Backstrom sprawls to try to stop him, and the Wild are getting hemmed in their own zone early in the period.
17:59 – Koivu has a couple great opportunities right on the doorstep. The first he can’t quiet corral and the second Mason got over in time to make the pad save.
17:01 – Brodziak makes a great play to strip the puck, then tries to feather it across to Bulmer, but Aaron Johnson gets in the way and breaks up the play. Jeff Carter takes a penalty, though, for cross checking.
16:24 – Jared Spurgeon is going to negate the Wild’s man advantage, as he gets called for interference on Derek McKenzie to even it up.
15:17 – Bouchard gets the puck on net with an unorthodox one-handed backhand, but Mason is there to turn it away.
14:02 – The Wild had another beautiful chance! Kyle Brodziak was looking at a wide open net with the puck sitting in front of him and he just couldn’t get it through the traffic and into the back of the net.
12:30 – Nick Johnson tries to drive to the net, but Mark Methot has something to say about it, knocking the Wild’s newest acquisition to the ice.
10:23 – Heatley gets a shot on goal with just one hand free, but Mason easily makes the stop. So far, Minnesota looks like they’re avoiding that second period lull, but they just don’t have the giddie-up they had in the first period. That’s a technical term, in case you were wondering.
9:30 – A strong forecheck by Brett Bulmer causes a turnover by Columbus, sets the Wild up in the offensive zone and leads to a drawn penalty by Kyle Brodziak. Great hustle and work by this third line.
9:20 – What a goal! Pierre-Marc Bouchard just fires the puck into the slot and Dany Heatley just re-directs it past Steve Mason for another power-play goal and a 3-0 lead.
8:30 – The chants of “Maaaaaaaaaason, Maaaaaaaaaaason” are echoing through the X right now. Gotta love it.
7:30 – Well, that’s embarrassing. Radek Martinek tried stepping up on Setoguchi as he was making a move, and Setoguchi promptly planted Martinek onto his rear end.
5:38 – Cal Clutterbuck gets a shot on net with Mason stopping the puck behind a screen set by Nick Johnson. The Wild definitely don’t look to be taking their foot off the gas right now.
5:09 – Well that was a strange bounce. The puck went into the corner and came out in a funky direction, right out in front of the net that led to a chance by Columbus, to which Backstrom popped the puck up into the air and lunged to make a glove save.
3:44 – The Wild’s fourth line is grinding out some great possession in the offensive zone, keeping the Jackets on their heels by keeping the puck deep in the Jackets’ end. Tremendous effort and a tremendous shift.
2:07 – The Jackets get a goal here on a crazy sequence, as Derek Dorsett found himself camped in the crease, the puck snuck past Backstrom and right onto Dorsett’s stick and into the net.
2:07 – The play is under review, but I don’t see them changing it. Dorsett looks like he got his stick on it and slapped it in.
2:07 – Yup. Good goal by Dorsett.
1:09 – And the Wild answer right back! Dany Heatley moves the puck across on the rush to Setoguchi and “Gooch” slams it home with a gorgeous one timer. 4-1 Wild.
1:06 – Not sure quite what happened there, but Bouchard is going to be sitting for four as he just smashed Matt Calvert in the mouth with his stick on the faceoff and that led to a pretty bloody mouth by Calvert. I don’t think it was intentional, but Butch looked like he was going for the slash and Calvert just happened to get his stick in the way, Butch’s stick rode up Calvert’s and there you have it.
00.0 – The period is over, and I’ve got to use this time to say that I think that Bouchard might be getting a call from the Shana-hammer here after that one. The more I look at it, the more it looks like he just flat out two-handed Calvert square in the mouth. If that’s the case, I think it’s a fine for sure, maybe more.
3rd Period
20:00 – We’re back underway and the Wild still have over two minutes of power play to kill off here. They avoided their typical 2nd period lull, let’s see if they can turn it on in the third.
19:34 – Apparently there’s a new goalie in the cage for Columbus. Curtis Sanford is now the goalie for the Jackets.
17:59 – Big drive by David Savard, but he just missed the net. It was, however, enough to scare the crap out of Backstrom it looked like.
16:58 – Bouchard is back on the ice and now Cal Clutterbuck is heading to the box as Clutter pretty much had to hold Jeff Carter to prevent a goal. That, kids, is what we call a good penalty.
15:54 – What a save by Backstrom! Derek Brassard had a WIDE open net and Backstrom made it across the crease to make the save and rob the young center.
14:30 – Minnesota is at full strength for the first time this period and they’re starting to get some pressure on Columbus, with the Wild’s second line really controlling play.
13:14 – Big hit in the corner by Setoguchi on Martinek. Neither man goes to the ice, but it sounded very, very heavy.
12:19 – The physical game is picking up. Colton Gillies just got laid out by Grant Clitsome in the neutral zone. That tends to be what happens, though, when you watch your pass.
10:08 – Penalty against Columbus coming up as Setoguchi had his stick ripped from his hands. Minnesota’s going to have another man advantage.
9:40 – Setoguchi just sidestepped a MASSIVE hit by Marc Methot. Dan Teerhar wasn’t exaggerating when he said that he was trying to knock “Gooch” up to the club seats.
8:08 – That was probably Minnesota’s worst power play yet in this one, but they still managed to control play in the offensive zone for parts of it, so that’s saying something.
6:47 – Kyle Brodziak just made a beautiful pass to the slot for a one-timer…Unfortunately, it was in the Wild’s zone and the recipient was Martinek. Backstrom bails him out, though, with a beautiful save.
5:40 – Clitsome makes a terrible turnover that was so bad, it actually surprised Brodziak when he had a scoring chance. So surprised was he that he was falling down, sliding away from the net when he actually shot it.
3:22 – Mayorov got loose in front of the net as the Wild played just a touch sloppy and he chips the puck in over a sprawling Backstrom and finds the back of the net. 4-2 Wild.
2:10 – Latendresse gets a good look as he steals a lazy cross ice pass and tries to sneak it across to Cullen, but to no avail as the play is broken up.
1:04 – Backstrom comes up huge with a good, fundamental save with Columbus with the extra attacker on. Backstrom gets in good position, he makes the save and smothers the rebound.
28.0 – Great pressure by Matt Cullen to force the play out of Minnesota’s zone. He just kept pressuring the defenseman until he had no more room in the offensive zone.
00.0 – Game one is in the books! The Wild are now 10-0-1 in home openers and the Wild win 4-1. Stick around here for our three stars and gamer coming up in a few!
NHL Entry Draft Live Blogging Fun!
The NHL Draft is upon us and it’s looking like it’s going to be one exciting day of hockey fun.
The trades, draft picks and everything in between will be talked about.
Join myself, Hockey Primetime correspondent Michael Caples, Houston Aeros blogger and goalie extraordinaire Ms. Conduct. Who knows, we might even have a few surprise guests up our sleeves!
Enjoy!
Live Blog! Habs @ Pens, Game 1
What an intriguing series we have here.
On one hand, we have the defending Stanley Cup Champions, who struggled more than most thought they would against a surprising Ottawa Senators team.
On the other hand, we have a Montreal Canadiens team that is the surprise of the playoffs thus far after downing the Washington Capitals in seven games.
Can Halak and the Habs do it again? It starts tonight!
Early Round Two Live Blog Schedule
Alright. Second round, here we come.
There were some (read: a lot) of surprises in the first round, and the second is shaping up to be quite intriguing.
So, without any further ado, here are our live blogs (which will, again, include myself as well as live blog extraordinaires Justin Bourne and Ms. Conduct).
Thursday, April 29 – Well, this would be tonight and a LOT of short notice. While I will not be live blogging, I will be watching the first game of the San Jose Chokes and Detroit Red Wings series with my little girl (who, for the record, chose the Red Wings to make the Cup Finals at 19 months). The puck drops on this one at 8 p.m. Central Time.
Friday, April 30 – Montreal Canadiens @ Pittsburgh Penguins, 6:00 p.m. Central (CBC, RDS, Versus)
Saturday, May 1 – Unfortunately, prior plans have gotten in the way of my blogging of the start to the two most intriguing series’ in these playoffs. BUT, you will definitely want to check out the two games today between Boston and Philly and Chicago and Vancouver for maximum playoff enjoyment.
Sunday, May 2 – No blogging today, but again there are two very fantastic games. Pittsburgh and Montreal in the afternoon and San Jose and Detroit in the evening.
Monday, May 3 – Vancouver Cancks @ Chicago Blackhawks, 8:00 p.m. Central (CBC, Versus)
Tuesday, May 4 – No dice tonight, for a family night, but once again Montreal and Pittsburgh are lining up and Detroit and San Jose are too.
Wednesday, May 5 – Prior plans have this night shot for the live blogging, but by no means should that stop you from checking out Game Three of the two series’ on.
Thursday, May 6 – San Jose Sharks @ Detroit Red Wings or Pittsburgh Penguins @ Montreal Canadiens, based on which is available in my area.
Friday, May 7 – Chicago Blackhawks @ Vancouver Canucks, 8:30 p.m Central (CBC, Versus)
There you go. I’ll have the next week’s games up as we see how these series’ go!
Live Blog Action: Predators @ Blackhawks
There Will Be Blog: Live Blogging Schedule for the Next Few Games
First of all, allow me to apologize for the lack of coverage last night. I spent almost all of yesterday curled up on the couch catching up on the family DVR (read: sick as a dog) and was hoping that I would be feeling better in time for the 6 p.m. CST puck drop of what turned out to be one of the best playoff games to date.
Alas, I was not and was bed ridden by six, unable to do anything more than just lie in bed like a lump.
But now that I’m back in the saddle, I figured it would be beneficial to toss up a schedule for what we’ll be doing for this coming week. Keep in mind, though, that now this schedule is extremely subject to change with the first round winding down.
Thursday, April 22: There will be no live blogging today, as tonight will be a daddy/daughter night. There are a couple great games to look forward to (and believe me, I’ll be watching as long as they keep the little one’s attention for). The Devils and Flyers will be playing in Game 5, as the Flyers will be trying to close out the series in New Jersey without the services of Simon Gagne and Jeff Carter. The Pens will be trying to eliminate the Senators in Game 5 of their series in Pittsburgh. Nashville will take the ice against the Blackhawks, trying to get a two-game lead over the heavily favored Chicago team. The night cap will involve San Jose trying to get their first lead of the series over the upstart Avs.
Friday, April 23: No live blogging this day either. The games should be intriguing, though, as both Boston and Washington will be looking to close out their respective series’, while a team will be looking to gain the advantage in both the LA/Vancouver series and the Phoenix/Detroit series.
Saturday, April 24: Nashville @ Chicago, 2 p.m. CST. This is tentative at the moment, but we should be live blogging what should be an exciting, exciting Game 5. San Jose @ Colorado is the only other game for sure on this night, but should Pittsburgh/Ottawa need another game, it will this night as well.
This is our schedule for the rest of the week. We’re not going to make plans past this, just because the games aren’t for certain, but you can be sure there WILL be live blogging for the late-series games.
Wild Nation Playoff Live Blog: Vancouver Canucks @ Los Angeles
Here comes the live blog again! Tonight, we’ve got the Kings/’Nucks game in all of its glory. It will be the same opinionated drivel with myself, Justin Bourne and Ms. Conduct talking hockey and making fools of ourselves all at once. The series is tied at 1-1, so it should be an increasingly fun game as playoff hockey comes back to LA for the first time in 5 years. The festivities start at 9 pm CST.
Enjoy!
HPT Live Trade Deadline Blog
It’s officially here folks. Christmas in March! The NHL Trade Deadline is upon us and we will be live blogging it here and on Hockey Primetime and Bourne’s Blog, as well as having a live radio broadcast hosted by Primetime Radio. Enjoy the festivities!
Live Blogging Action – Wild/Nucks
For those of you joining me for my live blogage of the Wild v. Canucks game tonight, welcome to Wild Nation! I’ve opted to go the old school route for tonight’s game and to blog live without the assistance of the usual CoveritLive.
The Wild come into tonight after a dominating win over the Calgary Flames last night and the Canucks are coming off of a 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday.
This should be a fantastic game between two division rivals and we’ll be getting underway soon! In the meantime, check out NHL.com’s gameday preview here.
First Period
20:00 – And we’re underway in Vancouver. The goalies are Josh Harding and Roberto Luongo tonight. The Wild start with Belanger, Clutterbuck and Kobasew on forward and Zidlicky and Zanon on D.
19:15 – Kesler got through pretty cleanly and went down, but looked like it was under his own power.
18:47 – G-Lat will be going to the box as he chop blocked Mason Raymond. Powerplay to Vancouver as they have started out pretty strong.
18:16 – Josh Harding looked to be blowing the game as he dropped to his knees with the puck on the goal line and Daniel Sedin shelfs the puck. Goal Vancouver.
17:06 – Havlat’s line is buzzing, but no quality scoring chances come from it. Incidentally, the scratches for the Wild are Scott (healthy), Ebbett (concussion) and Nolan (lower body).
14:57 – Good scoring chance by..wait for it…Derek Boogaard! The Canucks took exception to the fact that Boogaard actually hit the net and it looks like the refs gave him a penalty for it. Actually, it was Boogaard retaliating on a Hordichuk jab after the play, but the first part sounds better.
13:44 – 2-0 Canucks early, as Mason Raymond takes a nice shot between the feet of Kim Johnsson to beat Harding. This could be a short night for the team’s backup.
12:19 – Good interference defensive play by Miettinen to take Raymond out of the play as Schultz got caught pinching in the neutral zone.
11:40 – Something happened to someone and we have a stoppage. TV Timeout!!
11:03 – Boarding coming to Schneider on Sheppard. My God. That was an ugly hit. Shep is fine, but that should have been more than 2 minutes. Powerplay Minnesota.
10:03 – Is he even human!!?!? Bobby Lou just ROBBED Miettinen with a brilliant glove save. My goodness that was a beautiful save!!
9:03 – The penalty expires without anything of note happening, other than Louie’s glove save. Another lackluster powerplay from the Wild.
8:02 – Save by Luongo and the teams decide to dogpile after the fact. I wonder if Luongo had any say in the matter?
7:04 – Icing on Vancouver after a very nice breakout by the Wild. Havlat got the puck in full stride, but Mitchell played it fantastically and forced him to shoot, helping Luongo make the save.
6:05 – Just as I was about to say “What in the world is Shane Hnidy doing sitting on the doorstep,” Havlat hits Hnidy on the backdoor (sounds strange, I know) and Hnidy buries it to make it 2-1!
5:50 – Clutterbuck says hello to Luongo after a whistle and Vancouver doesn’t like that. I don’t understand it. He was just complimenting his flowing brown locks.
5:39 – A great tic-tac-toe play by Vancouver ended up loose in front of Harding and Zidlicky tapped it into the corner. Actually, it was more like tic-tac-tac-tac-toe.
5:05 – Harding makes a nice save with Burrows sitting on his shoulder. Not sure, but that might have been just a touch of interference, but Harding saved the puck so no-harm, no-foul.
3:15 – After a mismatch in lines, Burrows sniped Harding high, glove-side. Harding just looks to be fighting it as he’s giving up far too many rebounds.
2:20 – Good sharp angle shot by Raymond. After drawing close, the Wild are really pressing a little too hard and are giving up some good chances.
1:27 – G-Lat is making his second trip to the box for interference. Looks like Richards is giving the ref a hard time for the way he called the penalty…A little shimmy, a little shake and the Wild are shorthanded.
37.1 – Vancouver decided to be kind and even it up for the Wild as Ehrhoff gets the gate for Holding the Stick.
04.9 – The attack of the non-scoring defensemen! Greg Zanon decides to join the rush, makes a beautiful no-look pass to Havlat, then bats it out of mid-air to deflect it off of Luongo to pull the Wild within one.
00.0 – An exciting first period comes to an end as the Wild are down by one, 3-2. I’ll be back in roughly 17 minutes with the second!
Second Period
20:00 – And the period is underway as the Wild try to find the equalizer. A side note, I’m really enjoying Mikko Koivu’s new “grill.” If you haven’t seen it, it’s quite marvelous.
19:40 – They just showed Backstrom sitting on the bench. My Lord does he look bored. He must have forgotten to bring his PSP.
19:04 – Wild have a short powerplay and Miettinen JUST misses a beautiful scoring chance.
17:45 – Who says G-Lat doesn’t have wheels? He outskates a couple Canucks and takes a nice shot on Luongo. He’s obviously trying to make up for his two penalties in the first.
16:44 – Good rush by the Wild. Koivu gets off a great shot from the boards and force a stoppage.
16:05 – Interesting save by Harding. Mitchell’s shot hits the end of his stick and knocks it out of his hand as the puck flies out of play.
14:30 – The defensemen on the ice for the ‘Nucks just need to take a seat. Sami Salo just got deked out by…Derek Boogaard. Words just don’t describe the embarrassment.
12:36 – Brodziak almost gets a very good chance, but the puck just snuck off his stick as Mitchell pushed it to the corner. Great pressure this period by the Wild.
9:42 – Consecutive penalties coming. Looks like Bieksa for the ‘Nucks for interference and Boogaard for the Wild for…Get this…Diving. My mistake. Bieksa is still on the ice. ’Nucks PP.
8:45 – Good penalty killing by the Wild as Clutterbuck wrangles Raymond down and the Wild clear the zone.
7:40 – Wild kill off the penalty and we’re even again.
7:17 – Sometimes you’d rather be lucky than good and Luongo was definitely lucky on that one as the puck just seemed to find Luongo’s crotch as he’s sprawled. On the up side, Minnesota has the powerplay as Raymond goes for hooking.
7:05 – Looks like the Wild will have a four minute powerplay as Raymond gets the gate for hooking AND holding the stick.
6:25 – Note to the Wild: Don’t shoot glove-side high on Luongo. He’ll save it.
5:17 – First of the double minor is over and the Wild are putting some great pressure on the ‘Nucks.
4:21 – Sheppard gets a nice hit in on Kesler with a beautiful shoulder in the Wild’s own end. Good physical play by the youngster who is playing another great game.
3:22 – Minnesota is just a bit offsides as it breaks up some great pressure.
00.0 – Scoreless period, but a very good one nonetheless. The score remains at 3-2 and we’ll be back in 17!
Third Period
20:00 – And we’re underway! Minnesota is looking to even the score here as the third starts.
18:04 – Wild are scrambling a bit in their own zone as Vancouver has come out very strong. The top line of Koivu-Bruno-Miettinen spent their entire shift in their own zone.
17:07 – Sheppard fires a good shot on Luongo as Bobby Lou looked to be out of position after playing the puck but, of course, Luongo makes the save.
16:56 – I guess that’s the benefit of being Roberto Luongo as a quick whistle stops the play before he has the puck frozen.
15:45 – Incidentally, who are these centers and what have they done with our normal ones? The Wild are DOMINATING the face off circle. Sheppard is the only player on the team with less than a 70% faceoff percentage.
14:51 – Havlat is going to go for high sticking as Hansen gets clocked by Havlat’s stick after he lifts the stick. Tough penalty, but a good call nonetheless, and my fantasy team gets that much happier.
14:41 – I’m good!! Zanon gets clocked in the shoulder by a shot from Salo, then hops right back up and looks ready to go.
13:49 – The Wild are dead set on wearing a hole into Luongo’s glove as Clutterbuck gets a solid shorthanded chance.
13:16 – And it’s a two goal game once again as Ryan Kesler gets a shot on net and it looked like Bernier deflected it. Zidlicky also got away with one after the goal as he dumped Bernier well after the horn.
12:05 – Harding is still fighting it as he had to make a nice sliding save. Way out of position, but still a nice save.
11:16 – Funny moment between Havlat and O’Brien. Havlat and O’Brien are jawing at one another and Havlat reaches up and unhooks O’Brien’s chinstrap. Wow. Just wow.
9:12 – Maybe…Just MAYBE interference on Havlat as he lays a nice pick for Brodziak. No call and play continues.
8:20 – So much for G-Lat being soft too. He just LEVELED a Ehrhoff behind the Vancouver net. Great hit.
6:20 – The pace is picking up as the Canucks are putting the pedal down, applying pressure quite successfully.
5:29 – Good save by Luongo on Clutterbuck and the Wild continue to insist on shooting glove-side high. It’s time for the Wild to put the hammer down and try to pull out another win.
3:57 – A Sedin to Sedin centering attempt is broken up by Johnsson. Great heads up defense as the Canucks continue to pressure.
2:00 – Good pressure by the Wild and Luongo has had to come up big a couple times. Wild are really pressing as Vancouver just dumps the puck deep.
1:06 – Extra attacker on for the Wild and Oh My God has Marty Havlat arrived in Minnesota!! What a play by Havlat to get the puck to Brunette and get right to the net for the goal!
29.6 – To be honest, there was so much going on in front of the net I don’t exactly know what happened…But the bottom line is that Luongo got the save. Great pressure by Minnesota.
00.0 – A spirited effort by the Wild, but to no avail as they fall 4-3. Stop back later tonight or tomorrow for my thoughts on the game!
