By j-s landry -
For the enemy perspective, please visit Anaheim Calling
First game of a 5 game road trip against the Ducks and their fresh coach, Bruce .. something. Never heard of him. Apparently he did a great job in Washington or something and was on that 24/7 show. Anyway, look for games against the Ducks to be a bit different now, as Boudreau's coaching style is very different to Randy Carlyle's.
The Wild have shown tonight that they've got what it takes to come back from dire situations. They were trailing 2-0 and they fought back to win it 5-3, despite a slow start and a pretty ugly 3rd period. One of the only things we can say about this game is that it's a good thing they were playing against a Ducks game still trying to find their way, because the Wild didn't play a full 60 minutes of Yeo's system, and it almost cost them.
Win 5, lose 2, win 5, lose 2, win 4 and counting... that beats the pattern from last year, win 1, lose 2, win 2, lose 2, blablabla.
Next game is against the Sharks on Tuesday, the only team in the NHL that makes me go ''Ah crap, the Wild are gonna lose'' before the game even starts. Oh well, never know! If the 5 up, 2 down pattern continues, it's a win.
A few facts:
- Wild were out-hit 38-18. Wow.
- Cal Clutterbuck scored his league-leading fourth shorthanded goal in an empty net. He's the 6th Wild player to do this and he's 3 off of Wes Walz's record in the inaugural season. Also, tonight's SHG is his first without a Koivu assist. Welcome back, Mr. Clutterbuck.
- Ducks are now 0-13-1 when trailing after 2 periods, Wild are 9-0-3 when leading after 2.
- The Wild are now a sparkling 11-6-0 when surrendering the first goal, best in the NHL.
- The Wild have taken sole possession of the top spot in the NHL for the 4th time this year. Boy, do they suck.
- The Wild have only scored 5 goals on the road twice in the past two seasons: a 6-0 win against Calgary last season, and tonight's 5-3 win.
- This is the 2nd time in Wild history that they took both games in Anaheim.
- Wild are now 11-2-3 in one-goal affairs.
- From Elias Sports Bureau: Elias: (Wild)1st NHL team to win 3 straight road games when down 2 since Buffalo March 2006
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