Last night saw the Wild fire 40 shots on the Flames net, with Jacob Markstrom turning all of them away. Jared Spurgeon appeared to have won it in overtime, but after further review it was deemed he did not have control of the puck as his skates crossed the blueline ahead of the puck.
Despite the shootout loss, this Wild team is a very confident group as they play seemingly the same game night after night regardless of their opponent. Low scoring stifling defense with effective zone exits, great goaltending and excellent penalty kill.
This formula yielded results of late, however the offense needs to produce as we know all too well the history of the Wild in the playoffs.
Forty shots last night should easily have been fifty or more had the Wild forwards not been guilty iof overpasses, or worse, taking far too long to release their shots. The high powered offenses do not commit these unforced errors. The day the Wild forwards make this subtle change in the offensive zone, they will become a very dangerous team.
Tonight the Wild open a four game road trip with a key border battle with playoff implications on the line in Winnipeg. The Jets have dropped six of their last seven (1-4-2) and find themselves just four points ahead of Calgary for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Winnipeg and Minnesota, the border battles and rivalry have produced competitive games ever since the rebirth of the Jets following their move from Atlanta. Tonight will be just the next installment of this Central Division battle with the stakes heightened just a bit more. Expect the raucous Jets crowd to be on fire as they look to push their team to victory.
It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!