By Bryan Reynolds -
Visit Five For Howling for enemy perspective.
Arg. What else can we say? This was a stereotypical 2009-10 Minnesota Wild game. They came out strong in the first period, making Bryzgalov make save after save, getting some serious scoring chances. They earned a hard fought goal when Latendresse buried a puck that should have been covered to put the Wild up 1-0 early.
After pulling Backstrom, the Wild could not control the puck long enough to put any heat on Bryzgalov, and lost the game 3-2.
The story of this game will be a showcase of everything the Wild have done wring all year. Team defense was lacking. There was little battle in the corners or for free pucks. Too much passing, not enough shooting. Defenders pinching in at the complete wrong times (ie when a forward is able to play the puck and instead a defender jumps in to play it and ends up giving up and odd man rush).
They did not deserve to win this one. A regulation NHL hockey game is 60 minutes. The Wild played about 23 1/2 tonight.
Hockey Wilderness 3 Stars:
1.Radim Vrbata (1G, 1A, 5 SOG)
2. Martin Hanzal (1G, 1A, 3 SOG)
Five Questions to Answer:
1. How will Niklas Backstrom look in his first game back? He looked good. Highlight reel saves, goals given up were not soft. Team hung him out to dry.
3. Can the Wild continue their excellent play at home? Absolutely not. In my opinion, the fans deserve a refund for this one.
5. Will the Wild power play drive the offense or be a momentum killer? Looked good at first, then killed the game.
-Buddha
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