Penguins End Minnesota Wild’s Home Unbeaten Streak
By Nick Fritz
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In an 82 game season, there will be nights when a team is out of sync. This was the case at the start of the game for the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night, as they lost 4-1 to the Penguins for their first loss at the Xcel Energy Center.
Head coach Mike Yeo said after, “The start was not good for us… It’s not like they were dominating us, things just started to unravel and we started to get away from our game.”
You could tell both teams had respect for each other coming in, as the first period featured a lot of careful play. No penalties, few shots and lot of play in the neutral zone until Nick Spaling buried a beautiful feed from Steve Downie with just 54 seconds left in the first period. Shots were 6-5 Wild after one.
The Penguins kept the momentum going with an early goal in the second period when Brandon Sutter snapped one home from Rob Scuderi. After two failed power play chances for the Wild, the Penguins didn’t need much time on their first power play chance of the night. Just seconds in, Chris Kunitz snapped one home from Malkin and Letang. The second period ended with the Penguins on their second power play and leading 3-0.
With 9:18 left in the game, Nino Niederreiter answered the Penguins with a shorthanded breakaway from Suter and Brodin. With the crowd back into the game, the Wild started getting back into a groove until a questionable, non-reviewable no-goal call for Koivu with under four minutes left hushed the comeback hopes. Mike Yeo wasn’t happy and kept it short in his post game presser, saying, “I’m not going to get into it.”
Then, Penguins winger Patric Hornqvist buried an open net goal that sealed the deal.
On a positive note, the Wild outshot their 11th opponent in a row, 34-21. No reason to get down on the team after this one, as the Penguins are a top-team and the pucks just wouldn’t go in tonight. On a negative note, Zach Parise was absent in the third period with an apparent injury. The Wild take the ice in Ottawa against the Senators on Thursday night.
Nov 4, 2014; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins forward
Blake Comeau(17) skates with the puck as Minnesota Wild forward
Erik Haula(56) defends during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports