Game One: Wild 4, Bruins 3

The Wild opened their division champion defense Saturday night against the Boston Bruins. The Team of 18,o00 came into the game having never lost a home opener, but they were playing against a goaltender that helped them reach that mark. The game also marked the first in a Wild sweater for a number of players. Thankfully for Wild fans, those newcomers helped win the game.

The first period started out rough, but that was to be expected for a team that hadn't played a game in a week. After going down 1-0 on a goal by Boston's Phil Kessel, the Wild looked a little shell-shocked. They were being outshot, and had already had to fight off a 4 minute double minor to defenseman Brent Burns. The Wild got two chances on the power play in the first period, and, like last year, the team cycled the puck a lot, but didn't put together a lot of shots. By the same token, they may not need a lot of shots if the players can deliver good ones, like Eric Belanger did on the second power play. His goal tied the score as the teams skated into intermission.

In the second period, the flood gates opened for the Wild, and they were able to mount a strong showing. If it hadn't been for some spectacular saves by Manny Fernandez, the Wild could have put easily five or six pucks in the net. As it was, they were able to notch another three goals, coming from Marc-Andre Bergeron (on the power play), Antti Miettinen, and another goal by Eric Belanger. The Bruins skated well, but couldn't sneak anything past Nik Backstrom, and they went down 4-1 to end the second period.

In the third, the wheels came off a bit, and Boston's Marc Savard brought the game within one with two pretty goals. Where many of the Wild goals came thanks to scrapping in front of the net, the Boston goals just seemed to have great trajectory. However, much like Fernandez in the second period, Backstrom made some tremendous saves to keep his team in the lead. A late penalty against Stephane Veilleux led to a thrilling end-of-game, as the Bruins put the pressure on, pulling their goaltender to get a 6-on-4 power play. In the end, though, the Wild stood strong.

Good points from the game:
- Newcomers. Not only did Bergeron and Miettinen score in their first Wild games, but Owen Nolan, Andrew Brunette, and Colton Gillies notched assists. It was Gillies first NHL point.
- Special teams. The Wild power play went 2 for 3, while their penalty kill held the Bruins to 0 for 3.
- Surprises. The Wild lines didn't change, as has been the case in past seasons. Also, seeing Marian Gaborik on the penalty kill reminded us why he's more than just a goal scorer, something that couldn't be said a few years back.

Negatives from the game:
- Pressure. The Wild put a lot of pressure on the Bruins in the first period, but didn't have many shots to show for it. When Boston ramped back up, the Wild looked a little shaky, and Backstrom had to stand tall.
- The third period. The Wild didn't have a strong third period, which is a huge change from last season. Here's hoping that they get that figured out before too long.
- Shots. The Wild were outshot by a good margin. While the passes were fairly crisp, and players had good looks, they didn't always pull the trigger when they could have. A prime example of that? Both Colton Gillies and Marian Gaborik tried to feed Derek Boogaard when they had clearer paths to the goal.

Next up: Atlanta Thrashers, who are 1-0-1.