Game Three: Wild 6, Panthers 2

Alright. If anyone had said that the Wild were going to score 6 goals last night against a relatively tough defensive team before last night, it would have been easy to call them crazy. Especially when you look at the injuries, and realize that the Wild were missing the services of an entire forward line, with Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Owen Nolan, and (surprise!) Marian Gaborik sitting in the press box or back in Minnesota. Taking the Wild's youth into consideration, and the strength of the Florida D, it just didn't seem possible for that kind of offensive output.

Well, apparently nobody told Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen, or Andrew Brunette, as the Wild's "second" line (which has been playing like a first line since the first puck drop against Boston) notched ten points, and four of the goals for the team. Koivu turned in a brilliant performance, notching a late power play goal to go along with his four assists. Miettinen turned in another two goal performance, adding an assist of his own, and Brunette, once again, was the guy to get the lamp lit for the first time for the Wild, giving the team a 1-0 lead that they never looked back from.

Sure, Florida had their chances, but every time they brought it back within one, Minnesota stepped up and notched another insurance goal. One of the prettiest goals, after one of the more foolish plays, came off the stick of Benoit Pouliot. The kid went coast-to-coast, and, instead of smartly dumping the puck for a smooth line change, he battled 1-on-2, splitting the defense before turning Tomas Vokoun inside out. The Wild didn't let up in the third period when Craig Anderson took over the Florida net. Heck, even Derek Boogaard got into the fun, getting an assist for his first point since, well, the last time the Wild were in Florida (February 2007, for those playing at home).

Good points from the game:
- The "second" line. Obviously the line of Miettinen-Koivu-Brunette has yielded results. We're not quite to the point of saying "Marian Who?", but these three have just clicked, and carried the team to a 3-0-0 start.
- Defense. For the most part, the defense was strong, and bodies were flying all over the place. The only real scary spot? The first Florida goal, where Backstrom was screened by about three Panthers.
- Special teams. Again, the special teams has been huge for the Wild. Sure, they could have won the game without their power play goals, but they also could have won with just those tallies. Besides, the team still hasn't given up a power play goal.

Negatives from the game:
- Inexperience. Aside from Pouliot's beautiful goal, the rookies were a little scary to watch with the puck. Reitz was relatively strong, but too many fancy moves by Mojzis, Pouliot, or Gillies often led to missed chances.
- Boogaard vs. Belak. Not a good fight for Boogey, and not a great one for Belak either. Neither player could keep their legs under them, and they spun for awhile. Plus, after the penalties from earlier in the period (and the brawl), this fight just felt a little tacked on.
- The second period. Alright, most of the second period was actually really good. And it's hard to argue with any period that involves going from up 1-0 to being up 4-2. However, the Wild almost let Florida back into the game twice. The killer instinct from the third period needs to be more pronounced earlier.

Next up: Saturday against the 0-2-2 Tampa Bay Lightning. It's going to be imperative for the Wild to not look past the Lightning at this point of the season.