San Jose Sharks 3 - 1 Minnesota Wild
Hmm, was Lemaire's sandbagging actually a self-fulfilling prophecy? Were the Wild too interested in the election coverage? Did they actually trade places with random Bay Area fans between the second and third period, or were they just that bad to be outshot 22-4 in the third? These questions have no answers, unfortunately, neither did the Wild for the Sharks feeding frenzy in the third (see what I did there? Sharks, feeding frenzy, get it???).
The Wild coach saw this as a moral victory and just wanted to move on. Frankly, I'm fine with that. Have lost three of the last four, they need a big rebound against (what should be) and overmatched team in the Colorado Avalanche, but without Gaborik, Nolan and Burns, things are awfully bleak right now. I should have more information on the injuries some time Thursday before game time.
Hockey Wilderness Three Stars
- Ryane Clowe (1 goal, 1 assist, 1 minor, 1 fight - Gordie Howe is proud)
- Mike Grier (1 goal, 1 assist, +2)
- Krys Kolanos (1 goal - welcome back to the NHL son)
Questions to Answer
- Lemaire conceded the game already. Did the team? Apparently they did in the third. Signs of life, and really out played the Sharks until they scored, then it was all San Jose.
- Can the team stay healthy tonight? Sounds like it. I haven't heard anything otherwise, so we'll take the small victories.
- Will the Wild put the Power back in power play? NO. NO. NO. Horrible again.
- Is it possible for half of the shots tonight to be generated by someone not named Antti, Andrew or Mikko? Well, since Stephane Veilleux led the team with 4 shots, and Kim Johnsson had 3 as did Mikko Koivu, I'd say the shots were evenly spread, unfortunately they were more than doubled up by the Sharks.
- Can Kolanos make an impact tonight? He has the touch in Houston so far. Considering he scored his first goal in almost 3 years, yeah. I'd say he made in impact.
Notes
- Krys Kolanos scored his first NHL goal in over three years. The former Phoenix first-round draft pick last scored on Nov. 3, 2005 as a member of the Coyotes.
- The Wild are scoreless in their last 16 power play opportunities
- The Sharks beat the Wild for the eighth consecutive time since Oct. 21, 2006
What the team is saying
"Overall the guys played hard," Wild coach Jacques Lemaire said. "What changed the dynamic of the game was the second goal. Backstrom made the save but the puck went back to another player and they scored. They are a top team and when you make a mistake it ends up in the net. I want [the young guys] to look at it exactly like this, they played hard. One thing I know is they can check. Now it’s a matter of playing with the puck. We’ll get there. We kept hitting. We got hit. I thought it was a very exciting game."
"That second goal was a big goal for them," Wild goalkeeper Niklas Backstrom said. "We were confident ourselves after two periods. 1-1 here, it’s good. I thought we’d play strong in the third and have a chance to win."
"They’re a big team. Part of their gameplan is try to intimidate some teams with their third and fourth lines. They’re big guys, but I thought we stood our ground." - Cal Clutterbuck
"It’s tough to lose. Winning is the most important thing. That was the priority. We hung in there. It’s just amazing how fast the momentum can shift." - Krys Kolanos
What others are saying
Sharks coach Todd McLellan: "I thought early in the game our response was poor. We had to address that between the second and third periods. After that we buckled down and played the way we should have. But it was a sloppy effort on our behalf for 40 minutes."
On his Gordie Howe hat trick, "It's a work day when you get one of those," said Ryane Clowe, still trying to catch his breath. "It's tiring."
"Any way we can get it done," said Roenick, who had an assist on McGinn's goal. "It doesn't matter who you play with or how much you play. It's just making sure you get the win at the end, and we did tonight."
The game in pictures
Video Highlights