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Minnesota Wild Blogger •
Marty Turco was scratched and, in his place, Matt Climie (a former Bemidji State Beaver) is playing in his place, particularly relevant since Dallas is in Minnesota and, for you non-Minnesotan's, so is Bemidji who is incidentally a Frozen Four participant. Prior to the game, yours truly correctly answered the trivia question posed to the table at dinner regarding which Frozen Four Team had the most Canadians and which team had the most Minnesotan's (anwer at the end of this blog).
This game was a "spoiler alert" for Dallas and a "must win" for Minnesota. And it was all Minnesota. In the first period, Gaborik scored on a beautiful tic-tac-toe (where will he go) play from Brunnette and Sheppard. On the re-play, it appeared as if Gaby stole the goal from Sheppard.
In the second period, Modano missed a wide open net. Backstrom, later in the period, made a soccer goalie-like save by diving to the lower corner of his net to deny another Dallas opportunity. Belanger then, later, converted a Gaborik shot/rebound on the powerplay, followed by Owen Nolan's power play goal. Nolan's goal came after a couple of failed attempts by the younger Gaborik in front of the Dallas net. It was as if Nolan got sick of waiting for Gaby to put it in and took the puck and showed the youngster how it's done. Always the mentor. Then again, Nolan does lead this year's Wild team in goals with 25 goals on the year coupled with missing a ton of games due to injury. After that, Gaborik appeared to have hurt his right knee, but stayed on the bench and continued playing in the third period. Maybe Brunette and Koivu playing while injured is starting to have an impact on the ever so fragile Minnesota super star. Speaking of injuries, Clutterbuck left the Wild bench after a shift with less than a minute to go in the second period.
In the third period, Dallas struck first on a goal from Fabian Brunnstrom from Ribero and Ott at 7:26 of the period. With Backstrom's shutout bid spoiled and with the tempo of the game going at half speed, it was time to watch the scoreboard. Up until this point, all things were going well for the Wild on the night. The Blackhawks were up on the Preds 3-2 and the Kings had the Oilers down 2-0. Meanwhile, the Coyotes were up 1-0 on the Blues.
Wild win 3-1. 3 stars of the game were: (3) Backstrom, (2) Clutterbuck, and (1) Gaborik. Back to the scoreboard.
Hawks score with under a minute left to shoot down the Preds in Music City. Go Kings, Go 'Yotes!
Almost forgot to answer the trivia question: Bemidji has BOTH the most Canadien players and the most Minnesota players.
The good news tonight is that Edmonton and Nashville now have both lost. The bad news is that the Blues are steam rolling the Coyotes and, if all stays the same, will be tied with Anaheim with 88 points. Nashville has 86 points. The Wild has 85 points. Edmonton has 83 points. The best Edmonton can now do is 87 points and are now eliminated from post-season consideration with a St. Louis win. The best Minnesota can do is 89 points and hold on by a thread. The best Nashville can do is 90 points. Both Anaheim and St. Louis now control their own destiny. Anaheim plays Dallas at home on Friday and in Phoenix on Saturday. St. Louis plays Columbus at home on Friday and in Colorado on Sunday. Nashville plays at Detroit on Thursday and in Minnesota on Friday. The Wild have Nashville at home on Friday and are in Columbus on Saturday. The season may well come down to Sunday's game in Colorado against St. Louis. I believe St. Louis holds the tie breaker over the Preds. Hopefully, everyone of the teams vying for the 7th and 8th places in the Western Conference go on losing streaks with the exception of the Wild. Not gonna hold my breath on this one, although something in my gut tells me the Wild may actually pull this one off. My brain, however, screams otherwise. We'll see, huh?
This game was a "spoiler alert" for Dallas and a "must win" for Minnesota. And it was all Minnesota. In the first period, Gaborik scored on a beautiful tic-tac-toe (where will he go) play from Brunnette and Sheppard. On the re-play, it appeared as if Gaby stole the goal from Sheppard.
In the second period, Modano missed a wide open net. Backstrom, later in the period, made a soccer goalie-like save by diving to the lower corner of his net to deny another Dallas opportunity. Belanger then, later, converted a Gaborik shot/rebound on the powerplay, followed by Owen Nolan's power play goal. Nolan's goal came after a couple of failed attempts by the younger Gaborik in front of the Dallas net. It was as if Nolan got sick of waiting for Gaby to put it in and took the puck and showed the youngster how it's done. Always the mentor. Then again, Nolan does lead this year's Wild team in goals with 25 goals on the year coupled with missing a ton of games due to injury. After that, Gaborik appeared to have hurt his right knee, but stayed on the bench and continued playing in the third period. Maybe Brunette and Koivu playing while injured is starting to have an impact on the ever so fragile Minnesota super star. Speaking of injuries, Clutterbuck left the Wild bench after a shift with less than a minute to go in the second period.
In the third period, Dallas struck first on a goal from Fabian Brunnstrom from Ribero and Ott at 7:26 of the period. With Backstrom's shutout bid spoiled and with the tempo of the game going at half speed, it was time to watch the scoreboard. Up until this point, all things were going well for the Wild on the night. The Blackhawks were up on the Preds 3-2 and the Kings had the Oilers down 2-0. Meanwhile, the Coyotes were up 1-0 on the Blues.
Wild win 3-1. 3 stars of the game were: (3) Backstrom, (2) Clutterbuck, and (1) Gaborik. Back to the scoreboard.
Hawks score with under a minute left to shoot down the Preds in Music City. Go Kings, Go 'Yotes!
Almost forgot to answer the trivia question: Bemidji has BOTH the most Canadien players and the most Minnesota players.
The good news tonight is that Edmonton and Nashville now have both lost. The bad news is that the Blues are steam rolling the Coyotes and, if all stays the same, will be tied with Anaheim with 88 points. Nashville has 86 points. The Wild has 85 points. Edmonton has 83 points. The best Edmonton can now do is 87 points and are now eliminated from post-season consideration with a St. Louis win. The best Minnesota can do is 89 points and hold on by a thread. The best Nashville can do is 90 points. Both Anaheim and St. Louis now control their own destiny. Anaheim plays Dallas at home on Friday and in Phoenix on Saturday. St. Louis plays Columbus at home on Friday and in Colorado on Sunday. Nashville plays at Detroit on Thursday and in Minnesota on Friday. The Wild have Nashville at home on Friday and are in Columbus on Saturday. The season may well come down to Sunday's game in Colorado against St. Louis. I believe St. Louis holds the tie breaker over the Preds. Hopefully, everyone of the teams vying for the 7th and 8th places in the Western Conference go on losing streaks with the exception of the Wild. Not gonna hold my breath on this one, although something in my gut tells me the Wild may actually pull this one off. My brain, however, screams otherwise. We'll see, huh?
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