On paper, going into Saturday afternoon’s matinee it should have been a mismatch. The undefeated (in regulation) Minnesota Wild versus the Philadelphia Flyers, who were coming in on a six-game losing streak. It was anything but, as the Wild quickly found out.
Flyers Came Out Determined
In the last two games, the Flyers were awful in the first periods against the Washington Capitals, the terrible starts cost them both games in regulation.
One could have expected the same thing, in the first seven games this season Minnesota has scored the first goal in every game. That wasn’t the case Saturday as the Flyers came out flying early. Philadelphia scored 1:18 into the game, then scored again just over two minutes later on a goal from former Wild defenseman Nick Seeler.
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Without taking a timeout or pulling Filip Gustavsson, the first period was uneventful after the first two goals. The Flyers didn’t register a shot after the second goal, and the Wild outshot them 7-3 in the first period but might have had one or two decent scoring chances.
Patience Paid Off
When the second period started, the Wild continued with their dominance, so much so the Flyers’ fourth shot was from center ice. They wouldn’t register their next shot until four minutes left in the second. The Wild were outworking and outskating the Flyers but couldn’t catch a break outshooting them 14-1 since the second goal by Philly.
Coming out of the third TV timeout of the period, the Wild had an offensive zone faceoff. Head coach John Hynes would load up with Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy, 33 seconds later Brock Faber scored to make it a one-goal game. Just 31 seconds after that, Marcus Foligno would get his first of the season to make it even. The teams exchanged late second-period goals and went into the final frame tied at three.
Ugly Third Period
Much like the first period, the Flyers came out ready for the third but they dominated the final frame scoring four third-period goals, outshooting the Wild 17-5. Six goals would be scored in the third, all of which both goalies would want back.
Philadelphia was the heavier team throughout the contest as it looked like they were wearing out the Wild throughout the third. Rasmus Ristolainen would eventually score the game-winner with just over two minutes left. The goal came about after a wild scramble in front of the net.
Takeaways From Today
Gustavsson was bad today, really bad. He’d go 10-15 minutes without seeing a shot and it really showed. The team’s defensive coverage was suspect as well, especially on the game-winning goal. The only good thing is he will have almost five days to put this performance behind him. It appears that Marc-Andre Fleury is scheduled to get his final start in Pittsburgh on Tuesday versus the Penguins.
In today’s 7-5 loss, the Wild got some offense from the third line. Foligno would get two goals in the game. Those two goals are the first of the season from the team’s third and fourth lines.
Kaprizov not surprisingly would get yet another multi-point game with two assists. It’s his sixth multi-point performance of the season and fifth in a row. He now has 15 points in only eight games. Can anyone say MVP?
Some were concerned that today’s game was going to be a “trap game”. It turned out to be true, and because of it the Wild now have suffered their first 60-minute loss of the season.
