The series shifts to St. Louis gor game three and the Blues are dealing with some injury issues on the blueline. Nick Leddy and Robert Bortuzzo will not play. Marco Scandella is a game time decision.
So what was already an area of concern for the Blues, could be a real problem if their depth defensemen are unable to hold the fort.
My fellow HockeyBuzz blogger, Jason Millen, has called out Matt Boldy for his hit on Nick Leddy in game one, calling it boarding, that was not called. I saw the play and I must admit I looked to the referee to see if the arm was going up. My thought was the Wild dodged a bullet. Either way it was not called a penalty and was not reviewed by the department of player safety because it wasn't a malicious act.
That said it appears as though that hit may have a bigger impact on the series, than a two minute boarding penalty would have added. The extra PP for the Blues would not have mattered as St. Louiswon the game 4-0. It is an unfortunate situation for Leddy and the Blues but someone will step up because this is the playoffs.
The Wild will have the same lineup as game two so Dmitry Kulikov will once again be a healthy scratch and Alex Goligoski in on the third pair with Jon Merrill.
Marc-Andre Fleury delivered one of his best performances in a Wild sweater. He is poised to backstop the Wild, providing the stability and calming presence. That is why he was brought in and the team is gaining confidence playing in front of Flower.
Game plan is the same for the Wild, play between the whistles, leave the other stuff to the Blues. That was successful on Wednesday night, but that is also easier when you play with a multiple goal lead. Can they do that if they are down on the scoreboard?
That is going to be tested as this series moves forward.
It's always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!