With a game they’ll want to forget, the postseason is officially underway for the Minnesota Wild as they faced the St. Louis Blues for Game 1 of their best-of-seven series on Monday night. The game started with tensions high and the Blues found the back of the net twice in the first period while the Wild were unable to get anything on the scoreboard. Things didn’t get any better as the game went on, as the Blues added a goal in the second and third to extend their lead to 4-0 and eventually come out with the win.
The Wild elected to use Marc-André Fleury in goal, and despite his efforts to keep his team in the game with some marvelous saves, it wasn’t enough. Neither was having Marcus Foligno in the lineup and Mats Zuccarello back from injury. Blues goaltender Ville Husso had the Wild’s number all night long, as he made save after save and secured a shutout in his very first playoff game.
Wild’s Special Teams Unsuccessful
The Wild’s special teams were once again on display, but not in a good way. They had six power-play chances and didn’t score on any of them. They had a lot of opportunities and peppered Husso with shots but couldn’t get any past the young goaltender. He stopped everything that came at him and the Wild were stumped. Their top scorers on the power play, Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, Kevin Fiala, and Zuccarello tried and tried, but no matter what they did, nothing went in. While the Blues’ penalty kill was perfect, the Wild’s struggled, as it has all season long.
Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
The Blues, like the Wild, had six chances on the power play but unlike the Wild, they scored twice. Both goals were scored by David Perron and he scored from the same spot each time, the weakside pipe. He went on to score an even-strength goal later in the game to record a hat trick. For some reason, the Wild just can’t figure out how to fix their special teams, but they’ll have to soon if they want…
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