With some good play, Wild have life in playoffs

I have vivid memories of watching Andrew Brunette’s overtime, game-winning goal that he pushed past Colorado goalie Patrick Roy in the first round of the 2003 NHL playoffs.

As a high-school sophomore, I stayed up late to watch some of the games during that playoff run (then staggered into choir practice the next morning). When Bruno scored that goal, one of the most exciting in the Wild’s history, I jumped up in excitement in front of the TV.

I wouldn’t mind more playoff memories. In 2014.

The Minnesota Wild trail Roy (this time he’s a head coach) and the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 in the opening round of this year’s playoffs. A 2-1 hole is a much better place to be than 3-0, especially since history will tell you it’s nearly impossible for teams to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the best-of-seven series.

Game 1 still stings
I know game No. 1 is long over and the result can’t change. But boy, it’s still a tough one to swallow.

The Wild played well and came out with good jump at the Pepsi Center against Roy’s Avs. After a 1-1 first period, the Wild took control and tallied three in period two. The prettiest play was probably a long pass from Jonas Brodin to Erik Haula, who scored on a beauty of a wrist shot (that actually reminded me of Bruno’s goal from ‘03).

I was pleasantly surprised when Kyle Brodziak scored, but he committed an error that, for me, was the turning point in the game. In his own zone and with no pressure, Brodziak made a poor choice on a pass attempt and turned the puck over to Colorado, resulting in a goal that made it 4-3.

It was an absolute gift and a turnover that cannot happen in the playoffs.

In a bold move down by a goal late in the game, Roy pulled goalie Semyon Varlamov (who’s been outstanding this series) with about three minutes left in regulation. Roy said afterward that he even wanted to pull him with four minutes left.

Paul Stastny found the back of the net with about 13 ticks left on the clock to tie the game at 4. That was a terrible feeling if you’re a Wild fan. It got worse once Stastny struck again in overtime as the Avs came back to steal game one.

For the record, I don’t agree that Roy’s move to pull Varlamov early was why the Avs scored. With 13 seconds left, the goalie would be pulled anyway under the rule of thumb.

Plus, what really stung was the Wild nearly found the empty net. It made it all the way down the ice into the crease before a hustling Erik Johnson swept it out of harm’s way for Colorado.

The Wild also hit a post in overtime.

Ah, Minnesota sports.

Moving on
Game No. 3 became even more important after the Wild lost Saturday 4-2. Not that they weren’t in good company; Dallas and Chicago were also faced with digging out of 2-0 series holes.

The term “must-win” can get overused whenever teams are down quickly in a series. I even heard it after the overtime disappointment last week.

Technically, Monday’s contest was not a must-win game for the Wild. It sure was close though.

With more overtime excitement, youngster Mikael Granlund scored the only goal of the game about five minutes into the extra session to give the Wild a 1-0 win in front of the home crowd.

It was pretty close to the Bruno moment.

It seemed like the Wild couldn’t buy a goal throughout the game. Let’s just say I grew weary of hearing, “Save, Varlamov!” on the television broadcast.

The home team had a strong first period and out-shot Colorado. (Shots ended up 46-22 in favor of the Wild.) I was on the edge of my couch for most of the game. The longer the Wild dominated play and continued to shoot the puck on goal, the more worried I was that one Wild mistake or Avalanche rush would result in a Colorado lead.

I’m sure I wasn’t alone.

That’s why it was such an amazing feeling as a fan to see the winning goal from Granlund. Those are moments where you just love sports.

I can’t forget to give a shout out to Wild goalie Darcy Kuemper, who with 22 saves earned a shutout in his first career playoff start. It would have been easy for him to let in a couple easy shots, but he certainly did his part to help the team to a win.

It’s no secret injuries have plagued Wild goaltenders this season, from Niklas Backstrom to Josh Harding to Kuemper. It’s made it tough, but there have been some bright spots, too.

I’d expect Kuemper to get the nod in game four. He relieved Ilya Bryzgalov in game two, who’s played well for the Wild but struggled some lately.

So you’re telling me there’s a chance...
The Wild made it a series again with that game-three win. Now, they obviously have to look ahead to playing the same way in game four to even the series. With the same dominating play, peppering Varlamov with shots, the Wild should be in good shape to at least put themselves in a good position to win.

Shutting down Colorado’s top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Stastny and 18-year-old Nathan MacKinnon proved challenging for the Wild, but they seemed to adjust defensively in game three. That needs to continue.

It doesn’t seem we’ll be able to count on Cooke, but other players will need to step up. I’d like to see team leaders Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Jason Pominville put some pucks in the back of the net.
I’m hoping the Wild can even the series, and then I wouldn’t doubt seeing a seven-gamer. It’d be great to have a competitive series between two rivals.

Because having some more memorable playoff moments would be great, too.