Recap: GREEF line helps take Wild to satisfying win against Bruins

Whether it was Hockey Gods finally answering prayers from the citizens of its favorite state, or simply hard work paying off, the Minnesota Wild get a big win without Cam letting more than two goals (!!!!!!!!!!!) and against a pretty nearly always solid Bruins team. A bizarrely chippy game too, not sure where this rivalry was born, but for fans who like a little heat it makes for fun hockey.

The win came against a Boston without their number one center, but even without Patrice Bergeron, they were no slouches. Swayman had some really solid saves. McAvoy was a monster in all three zones and played with an edge. But good luck getting anything past the GREEF line playing the way they did tonight, with their 98.72 percent of the expected goal share. Seriously, Evason even said the shift that led to Greenway’s game-winner in the third as “probably the best shift I think I’ve ever seen.” Absolute monsters. Good for them. 

The Wild’s first line woke up tonight as well. Kaprizov started the scoring during a PP drawn by Fiala.

Not long after that, Duhaime avenged the entire state of hockey by getting into it a bit with Frent Trederic after he spent a few shifts avoiding Foligno like the plague.

And then Kirill scored again off a breakaway.

Boston didn’t let Minnesota hold a 2 goal lead for long though, and Craig Smith scored one for ‘em.

Then later, early in the second Marchand tied it and we all wept. Neither team scored again for the rest of the second but that certainly didn’t mean there weren’t any shenanigans. Wild got a PP they couldn’t capitalize on (in fact it was maybe one of the lowest moments in the game, a couple of shorthanded chances for the B’s.) There was also some tension brewing between Wild’s former friend Charlie Coyle and their new pal, Tyson Jost. Welcome to the club, bud.

To start the third, Dumb danced with Marchand. Cute!

AND THEN OUR GUY BIG RIG JORDAN GREENWAY SCORED. And this came from just an absolutely incredible shift from Greenway, Eriksson Ek, and Foligno. One of those times that you’re really reminded why Evason stares at these three with hearts in his eyes.

5:05 left in the 3rd, 3-2 Wild, Kaprizov took on McAvoy? Love that our star player is an absolute Tuff Boi™.

We get an ENG from Hartman LATE in the third because Brodin/Dumba and the identity line manage to keep Swayman on the ice until there’s just a 1:06 left in the game.

This win is absolutely owed in large part to a relentless Foligno, JEEK, and Greenway.

Burning Questions

What impact will new guy Tyson Jost make on his first night with the team?

Jost might take a few more games to adjust to the Wild’s system, but he didn’t have a bad game. He certainly didn’t have the instant chemistry with Duhaime and Bjugstad that other lines on the Wild can tout. He threw around 3 hits, and was clearly working hard. I’m still interested in seeing him play with other linemates.

What shenanigans if any will we see with Frent Trederic tonight?

Tonight lacked the fireworks that the January game saw, but there was a bit of drama with Frederic early in the game. Duhaime certainly wanted to make sure he rang the bell for January’s theatrics.