Wild’s 4th Line Shines in Overtime Loss to Coyotes

The Minnesota Wild got off to a rough start in the second half of their back-to-back when they took on the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena on Sunday, March 12. The Coyotes capitalized early when the Wild’s defense was out of position and they got the early 1-0 lead. The Wild fought back and recorded one of their own to tie things at one but it was far from over.

The Coyotes tallied another goal this time on the power play to take the 2-1 lead and try to put the Wild on their heels. It worked for just a few minutes as the Wild answered again to tie things up at two and that’s how the first period ended. The second period flipped sides as the Wild took their first lead of the game on a breakaway goal scored by Matt Boldy. That gave the Wild a bit of a jumpstart and they scored again to take a two-goal lead.

Shortly before the end of the second period, the Coyotes forced their way back into it with a goal of their own to end the period down 4-3. The Wild tried to keep the Coyotes at bay through the third but were unable to as they tied it up at four apiece. That’s the way it would remain through the rest of regulation and they were forced to go to overtime. Unfortunately for the Wild, they did everything they could but the Coyotes barely snuck one by Filip Gustavsson for the 5-4 win. The Wild may have lost but there were a lot of good things that happened.

Wild’s Fourth Line Steps Up

With the absence of Kirill Kaprizov, it was obvious other players would have to step up to fill in that missing piece. The players that stepped up the most against the Coyotes and also the night before against the San Jose Sharks were the fourth line of Ryan Reaves, Connor Dewar, and Mason Shaw. While they were a physical presence that their team needed against the hard-hitting Coyotes, they also provided a bit of offense that normally doesn’t come from their line.

The first to snag a goal was none other than one of the biggest personalities on the team, Ryan Reaves. He’s certainly picked up his offensive game in the last couple of weeks with two goals and two assists for four points in his last seven games. It’s not a huge number of points but for Reaves who’s known more for his physical play than his scoring, it’s a big deal.

The next goal was scored by Dewar who’s played really strong hockey all season. He received a great pass from Shaw and took a shot that sailed past…