Inside the Box: Wild @ Maple Leafs

I managed to catch the third period, but besides the dicey final minutes, the game was over after two. So I'll read the box score instead.

There was a flurry of activity in the first period, with each team taking fourteen shots. It wasn't until the Wild's second power-play of the night when Marty Havlat opened the scoring, ending his month-long and the Wild's 0-14 power-play drought. I can't comment on Marty's game as a whole, but even if he spent the rest of the game passing the puck to everyone but the men in white (road jersey), any goal is a goal. Havlat didn't get a plus because his goal was on the power-play, but he didn't get his customary minus. So Toronto didn't score during any of Marty's shifts. I'll venture a guess and say Havlat played well.

The Wild are who we thought they were, and they gave up the tying goal twenty seconds later. A pretty typical first period. In the second though, the Wild exploded. Another power-play goal, scored by Marek Zidlicky, gave the Wild a lead on which they would not sit. Only nine shots for the entire period, but the last two quieted the Toronto faithful (read: suckers). Mikko Koivu joined the scoring sheet with what turned into the game-winning goal. Greg Zanon followed 26 seconds later with his first goal as a Wild. You know that cheer that cuts out once the home fans realize it was goal, not a save? The silence after is so much sweeter.

They would have a little more reason to cheer in the third, as the Wild's commanding lead suggested that they enter a defensive gameplan. It worked out for the most part. Late in the period however, Phil Kessel got past the Wild defense and converted on the breakaway. Kessel's an elite talent, so I'm not going to fault Backs for not making what would have been a spectacular save. I will fault whichever flat-footed defenseman let Kessel into the open ice.

No biggie though, the Wild were still up by two with under two minutes to play. What could possibly go wrong? The Leafs (yes I know that Toronto doesn't know how plurals that end in "f" work) put a lot of pressure on the Wild, getting tons of chances. Toronto's possession in the Wild zone seemed endless and with a minute and a half left the Leaf goaltender came off for the extra attacker. The Wild bent, but did not break... or successfully clear the puck. They were tired, and it showed as Captain Koivu shot the puck into the Wild bench. That's a penalty, making it a six-on-four advantage. Imagine the disappointment when a couple of good stoppages by Backstrom later, Zidlicky was called for tripping. The two offensive stars of the game could very well have been the goats. Six-on-three for almost a minute.

Normally big trouble, but not for Niklas Backstrom. He was like a cat if that cat were a 196 pound Finn with goalie pads. He made his fair share of spectacular saves, but also made his routine ones by stopping as much as possible. The Wild did not clear the puck until Owen Nolan's short-handed goal in the closing seconds, leaving no opportunity for a change except for Nik stopping the play. Good saves, no rebounds, and stoppages to keep the badly outnumbered Wild defense fresh. Those defenseman could do little more than act as a shield around the net, because there were too many attackers to attack the puck. The Wild collapsed towards the 'tender, and Toronto didn't have the space to use all those extra attackers. It was about as well as anyone could play the situation, both in strategy and execution.

Count the Wild among the great number of teams who have scored more than three goals in a game this season. It only figures that even a three goal lead wouldn't protect a heart-racing conclusion for the Wild. Fortunately, Doug Risebrough left at least one unexpected legacy: Niklas Backstrom.