Minnesota hockey fans held their breaths to see how the Wild would respond after an awful game four at home against the St. Louis Blues. Or maybe it was just me.
The series was tied 2-2 as the puck dropped Friday night in St. Louis for game five. The start was a tad shaky for the Wild, especially when they got behind 1-0 on a goal from (who else?) Vladimir Tarasenko. That was tough because all we've heard about is the team that scores first has won every game in this series. That wasn't a good stat for the Wild in a pivotal game five.
The tide turned, however, just three minutes later. Marco Scandella fired a shot past Jake Allen, who saw the puck bounce off his glove and into the net. It was 1-1 after the first period, which was a victory for the Wild, since it only had a couple shots on goal.
In the second, it was all Wild. Nino Niederreiter gave the Wild a lead, and then Mikko Koivu scored a power play goal. It was 3-1 Wild after two periods. The other stat they bucked in this game was about leads. The team that scored first and also held the lead for the entire game had won each game in the series. Until Friday.
Late in the third, Charlie Coyle surprised Allen with his shot on goal. That gave the Wild a nice cushion and some boosted confidence. They responded well from game four, but possibly more importantly, they responded well from the tentative start. It would have been easy to get down after Tarasenko's goal.
Minnesota's goalie Devan Dubnyk came up huge, just two days after being pulled out of the 6-1 loss. He made 36 saves Friday, including at least one game saver where the puck went off his leg pad as he was on his side.
Looking ahead
Once again, the Wild are in an unfamiliar position. It's the first time in franchise history the squad goes into a game six up 3-2 instead of down. They'll faceoff against the Blues at 2 p.m. Sunday in St. Paul.
Of course, the obvious thing to do for the Wild is finish off the series at home. But as Minnesota fans know, that's easier said than done. The big question is: Can they respond to a series lead better than they did in game four, when they blew a chance to go up 3-1 in the series with a terrible 6-1 loss? We'll see.
I'm not saying the Wild can't do it; I'd say I'm cautiously optimistic. I'll say it again that the Wild seem to rise to the occasion when the chips are stacked against them. With a lead? I'm not sure how that will go. Clinching a playoff series at home would also be new territory. That could be fun.
Games in this series haven't been close, another change from previous Wild playoff games with OTs and one-goal contests. But if I had to guess, I'd say game six is finally the close game in the series, with the Blues sneaking away with the win.
Because I still think this series will go seven games.
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