Coyle Scores Goal of the Year in Wild Win (Video)
Jan 10, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Charlie Coyle (3) celebrates his goal with forward Nino Niederreiter (22) during the first period against the Nashville Predators at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Wild need to pick up wins in bunches and because of Charlie Coyle, they got one last night despite a fairly lackluster effort.
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The Wild were tied with the Western Conference cellar-dwelling Edmonton Oilers late in the third period last night at Rexall Place. Luckily for the Wild, Charlie Coyle had the play of the year in his back pocket. Coyle corralled a turnover in the neutral zone and brought it into the Edmonton end on a semi-breakaway. He brought the puck down the left hand side, carried the puck beyond the goal line and somehow tucked the puck in behind Viktor Fasth.
Wait, why am I describing this? That’s what the video is for!
It is hard to imagine Coyle originally planned on carrying the puck beyond the goal line, but it certainly worked out for him. The Wild were able to hang on for the final four minutes and pick up a huge two points. New Wild acquisition Devan Dubnyk played well again, yielding only one goal on 24 shots. So far, Dubnyk has seemed to stabilize the goaltending position for the Wild while Darcy Kuemper spends time “rehabbing” in Iowa. For the Wild to climb the standings in the Western Conference it will be critical to continue getting strong performances between the pipes.
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As far as the big picture goes, the Wild find themselves seven points behind the final Wild Card position. The Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks both have 55 points. The Wild have one game in hand on Calgary and two on Vancouver. What’s more, the next two opponents on Minnesota’s schedule just so happen to be the Flames and the Canucks. The swing through Western Canada continues in Calgary tomorrow then an afternoon game in Vancouver on Sunday. These are not necessarily “must-win” games, but the best way to move up is to beat the teams you are trying to catch. This weekend presents a golden opportunity that the Wild need to do everything in their power to take advantage of.
The Wild have dug themselves quite a hole. They will need more plays like that goal from Coyle if they want to climb out of it and make the playoffs for the third consecutive season. With the roster this team has, nothing less should be acceptable.