Tonight's game is game three of a four game road trip for the Wild. In the first two games they took three of a possible four points, losing only one via their overtime loss to Calgary last Friday. Tonight the Wild look to build off of their victory over the Coyotes in Phoenix. They take on the Kings, who are 16-10 overall, good for sixth place in the west only four points ahead of the Wild. A win today would be crucial in the standings and allow the Wild to keep pace with the rest of the west.
The goalies tonight will be a bit different, Theodore for the Wild but usual starter Quick for the Kings. The Wild are looking to avenge the shoot out loss to the Kings earlier this season. They must do so without the help of Cullen and Madden tonight, both out with injuries.
First Period:
The game almost got off to the worst possible start for the Wild, after an icing call just a few seconds into the game the Kings won the faceoff and appeared to score. The goal was quickly waived off by the official and upon review it was the right call. Dustin Brown got in behind starter Jose Theodore and bumped him.
On the next series of plays Los Angeles built up good pressure again. Zannon got leveled on a hit next to the Wild net and Kyle Brodziak took exception. The problem with that was that he was the only one to get a penalty and the Kings got the Power play. Near the end of the penalty kill the wild cleared the zone and Koivu put pressure on Quick and the defensive to make a play. By doing this he forced Quick to make a play sooner then he wanted to, right onto the tape of Koivu's stick. Mikko made no mistake and buried the puck in the back of the net to give the Wild a 1-0 lead.
The next rush down the ice Chuck Kobasew rang a shot off the post hard. Quick seemed almost tentative on a play that shouldn't have been a good chance. Brad Staubitz took a bad penalty behind the play as his teammates were headed down the ice on a 2 on 2 break. Fortunately for him Ryan Smyth took a penalty on the next play when he skated across the crease and clipped Theodore.
The rest of the period was rather uneventful. A few chances back and forth but nothing major. The Wild were held shotless after their shorthanded goal until 14:30 of the period when Havlat finally managed a backhand shot on goal that gave Quick more trouble then it should have.
Overall it was a fast paced physical period where neither team got a huge edge. The Wild are going to need to stay out of the box to have success in this game. Mikko Koivu is one of the few centers that the Wild use on the penalty kill, and with Cullen and Madden both out he will see more time then normal.
Shots:
Wild - 7
Kings - 7
Goals:
Koivu (SH) 2:50
Second Period:
The second period got off to an interesting start as Brad Staubitz and Kyle Clifford dropped the gloves after the first whistle. It seemed like it would be a good fight till Clifford switched hands and started throwing punches with his left hands. After three defenseless blows to the face Staubitz went to the ice, a clear win for Clifford.
Not long after the fight the Wild transitioned quickly though the neutral zone, ultimately giving Havlat an opportunity to get past the Kings defense. He kept his feet moving and drew a hooking penalty on Doughty all while still managing to get Quick to go down and make a sprawling glove save. On the power play the Wild were unimpressive once again. They managed only one quality shot, a blast from the point that resulted in a rebound at the top of the right circle that no one could find. The Kings were able to clear the puck on four seperate occasions, something that cannot happen for a successful power play.
The Kings finally tied up the game halfway though the second period. The pressure was mounting for a few minutes leading to several chances for the Kings. Theodore made the first few saves before Dustin Brown was finally able to bury a shot from the slot to even the score.
Right off the face off the Wild responded, nine seconds to be exact. Quick tried to play the puck behind the net and accidently left it for Clutterbuck. Clutterbuck wrapped the puck around the net, the opposite way quick was going to give the Wild the lead back.
Not long after the goal, today's call up, Warren Peters, took a holding penalty. The penalty was a result him not moving his feet along the benches, luckily for him the Kings weren't able to bury any of their chances during his penalty. Following the end of Peters' penalty Nick Schultz was called for high sticking, the fifth Wild penalty of the night. The Kings generated a lots of chances during the fifth penalty, including a shot that hit the inside of the post and bounced away. The Wild survived the flurry and still maintained a lead
The last few minutes provided a few minor opportunities for both teams. Neither team had anything major to write about other then Smyth taking a stick to the face which was partially caused by his own kick out of the Wild defensemens skates. Nystrom and Simmonds got into a fight with 30 seconds left, both were throwing freely and the fight would be considered a draw in my opinion. The Wild picked up their sixth minor penalty of the game when Havlat got called for a high stick with five seconds left. Zannon blocked a shot with his shoulder which killed off the last few seconds of the period.
Somehow the Wild are still in the game at the end of the second period. They have seemingly taken away their own momentum by taking a penalty each time they get going. Regardless teams that win games do it however the have to. Hopefully the Wild can continue to do what they are doing and come out of Staples Center with a win.
Shots:
Wild - 7
Kings - 11
Goals:
LA Brown (Kopitar, Williams) 9:25
MN Clutterbuck 9:34
Third Period:
After some nice puck movement and a back door feed to Ryan Smyth that tied the game up at two only a minute and nine seconds into the game the period seemed to lose most of its flow. There were a total of ten saves in the final period which included almost three full power plays for the Kings and only one for the Wild. The lone goal for the Kings meant that this game was headed into overtime, the second one for the Wild in the first three games of the road trip.
Shots:
Wild - 4
Kings - 7
Goals
LA Smyth (PP) (Kopitar, Brown) 1:09
Overtime:
In overtime the Wild finally managed to have a frame of time where they lead in both shots and power play opportunities and they made the most of it. The lone shot for the Kings was an excellent chance for Kopitar to end the game but Theodore was up to the task. Doughty took an interference penalty a 1:11 into the extra session which led to the opportunity for the Wild to finish them off. Quick made two excellent saves in the first half of the penalty kill to keep the game alive, one without a stick where he gloved the puck and was able to get a face off. After Bouchard hit the post on the next series the Wild were able to regain control of the puck, some simple outside passing allowed O'Sullivan to feed Burns for a one timer that ended the game with 2:10 left on the clock in overtime.
Shots:
Wild - 3
Kings - 1
Goals:
Burns (PP) (O'Sullivan, Bouchard)
Summary:
I think that just about anyone that watched the game tonight will tell you that the Wild were lucky to get out of the Staples Center with a win. They gave the Kings eight power play chances and while they only allowed them to convert one of them, you must question how many times that can happen. Only generating 21 shots is not very helpful either, though better when the fact that they only allowed 26. I will not however complain about the win, two points is two points no matter how you get it. While the game had no large impact on the standings, keeping themselves 3 points away from the basement is helpful, not to mention the confidence that comes with finally putting two wins in a row together. Tomorrow they face 9th place Anaheim to wrap up the road trip, a win would give the Wild 7 out of a possible 8 points on the four game trip and add significant confidence to a team that had been struggling prior to the trip.
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