Minnesota Wild vs Anaheim Ducks: Game Re-Cap

Minnesota Wild 1 - 2 Anaheim Ducks

Missing: Minnesota Wild First Line

The first period was a real yawner. The Wild did open the scoring, which was nice to see, but then the game turned into something that closely resembled the mess my new dog made on my floor. Bad hockey from both sides, sloppy, choppy, ugly, terrible hockey. If you come up with other words that mean "bad," feel free to fill in your own.

If you watched the game, I apologize. The late night, coupled with the excitement level of this game, had to have you reaching for a double espresso. The second period would not be your wake up call. The Ducks would get on the board as Kyle Palmieri would score his first of the night, as the Wild continued to hold the Ducks' superstars to nothing, but gave up all the ice in the world to a grinder.

Here's a quick lesson for youth hockey players out there. If you don't cover the backside of the goalie, and NHL teams are given an open net to shoot at enough times, you will lose games. Many of them.

The third period would see the Ducks take the lead on another goal from Palmieri, and the knife from Bobby Ryan. Niklas Backstrom clearly deserved better than this tonight, as he played his butt off, and the team in front of him flat out disappeared. Multiple times, Backstrom made the first, second, and third saves, only to see his team fall apart again.

All around well played game from the Ducks, especially from Viktor Fasth, whose name I would not want to need to know on a deadline. They shut down the Wild's top line, got scoring from enough players to win the game. The Wild go another game deep without a road win.

If anyone has seen the Wild's top line, please inform your local police department*, as they have been absent from the last three games. When we said they needed the secondary scoring to step up, we didn't mean that the primary scoring could then go to bed.

On to Phoenix.

Three Stars of the Game

1. Kyle Palmieri (2G)
2. Viktor Fasth (26 Saves, 1 GA)
3. Bobby Ryan (1G, 2A)

Five Questions:

1. Does the first line join back in the scoring? Cute question, Reynolds.
2. Can Jonas Brodin score his first NHL goal? Not tonight.
3. Does Ryan Suter continue his rise back to becoming... Ryan Suter? Not a chance.
4. First one to score a goal (starting today) - Mikael Granlund, or Devin Setoguchi? It may be neither at this rate.
5. Backstrom - dominant, or not so much? Dominant, but not quite good enough.

*Do not, under any circumstances, call your local police department about this.