And the kids still continue to hold that fort down.
The shorthanded Minnesota Wild had the Edmonton Oilers come to the Xcel Center, and as it was in the days of yore, the Wild took it to them. They didn't need no Josh Harding (but please bring him back soon). They didn't need no Jared Spurgeon (but please bring him back soon). They didn't need no Zach Parise (but please bring him back soon). They didn't need no Mikko Koivu (but, again, please bring him back soon).
It started back in the first period, where Mikael Granlund made a fantastic play to take a puck from Martin Marincin and threw it out where Jason Pominville could put it in the net for his 19th goal of the year. That was pretty cool. And then in the second period, Jordan Eberle was all like, "Hey guys, we're really offensively gifted" and then showed it by making some nice moves around Wild defenders and popping in a goal.
It was all Wild from there, though. Later in the period, Jason Pominville intercepted a clearing attempt from Justin Schultz, and passed it to Nate Prosser, who gave Anthony LaPanta opportunities to say "Elk River" by slapping a goal past Ben Scrivens for the first of the year. Not long after, Matt Cooke laid out Nail Yakupov, which started a rush going the other way that culminated in Justin Fontaine scoring his 12th of the season.
Yay!
And then the scoring ended 8 seconds in the third period, where Charlie Coyle won the opening face-off, and Dany Heatley and Jason Zucker gave-and-went to score.
The Wild pretty much did what they ought to do against a bad team, which is win. But credit where it's due, they've done excellent work these last two weeks, and they maintained the cushion that they have on Phoenix, and will probably tie Vancouver tonight, and have a chance to gain ground on Dallas.
Speaking of Dallas, they'll be squaring off against them in a home-and-home against them starting on Saturday. So rest up for that.
Good night, guys, I'll be getting the Walk up for tomorrow.
1. Zach Parise will be out for at least another game. Can the Mayor of Pominville and his juvenile residents hold down the fort one more game? Actually, yes. The Mayor of Pominville and the young'uns scored all the goals (depending on if you consider Prosser young).
2. Darcy Kuemper has been red hot in his last three appearances for the Wild, 91 of 95 shots, raising his Sv% from .633 to .913 in the process. Can he keep it up?- He does, making 20 of 21. He's shaken off all the doubts his early season performance cast.
3. Can Jonas Brodin, Ryan Suter, and the Wild defense contain the offensive prowress of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and company?- They did a fine job. Not a lot of goals, not a lot of shots, nor opportunities allowed.
4. Will the Wild still continue to not regret jettisoning Nick Schultz?- Yep.
5. Will Ben Scrivens look like a good acquisition or bad tonight?- Eh. He let in four goals, yeah, but it's not like his defense gave him any support on those.
Bonus: Is Taylor Hall the ugliest player in the NHL?- Probably.