The Kuemperor's New Groove, Wild Win 3-1 Against Maple Leafs

The Wild didn't give up much the rest of the way as they played a really strong structured defensive game. They were worried about getting beat in the transition game and guys like Kessel and James van Reimsdyk cherry-picking for the home-run pass. So in response they played a third forwars high all night and made it really tough for Toronto to come through the neutral zone with speed and numbers. Minnesota was out-shot 35-29 and with the team playing for the counter-punch most of the game, it felt almost reminiscent of Jacques Lemaire's system. But that was the kind of game they needed to play to protect their still rebounding young goaltender. And not much more can be said of Kuemper's game Friday. He was aggressive and challenged every shooter he could. He had some very big game-saving type saves.